Turmoil

Dr. Chester Turmoil, born to a wealthy San Francisco family and by upbringing and inclination obsessed with achievement, hires Juneau Rigging to document the development of Turmoil’s effort build the perfect energy efficient house. The property, in a remote area northeast of the Napa valley, aims to be sustainable in every way. Liking Riggings first efforts to document the project Turmoil then involves Rigging in documenting a political event that is part of Turmoil’s campaign for Congress.

Rigging’s curiosity piqued so while the construction project evolves Rigging begins researching background on Turmoil. As he meets more people who know Turmoil he begins hearing and recording stories about a variety of Turmoil’s eclectic and sometimes weird projects.

On a Napa Valley wine tasting trip Rigging meets Reginald Farley, who, after drinking copious amounts of wine claims to be a Treasury agent and tells Rigging a convoluted tale (partly verified later by a third party) of how he won a promotion to Washington by undermining Turmoil’s efforts to rein in the power of Congress and big money power brokers.

Internet inquiries put Rigging in contact with Enos Flid, a Turmoil employee, who tells Rigging of programs developed by Turmoil attempting to mimic the thought processes of famous authors and write fiction. Flid then periodically forwards stories written by the programs as he develops them on Turmoil’s computers.
On a trip to Turmoil’s college reunion Rigging meets Simon Stonefeller who tells Rigging about an attempted prank on Turmoil that backfired and caused to Stonefeller to leave his fraternity.

On the construction project problems arise between Turmoil and Roy, the contractor. In part the problems relate to the progress on the construction. But the most irreconcilable problem is that both men are attracted to Sazi, the female architect who designed the house. Roy is a flirt but Turmoil has grander ambitions having decided Sazi would be his wife.

The problems culminate in a confrontation during a huge storm pounding Northern California. Roy’s estranged wife April arrives with her attorney seeking to enforce and support order. During the confrontation Rigging learns some of Turmoil’s most cherished ambitions have crashed headlong into reality as Turmoil has been turned down in no uncertain terms by Sazi, and barely got a vote in the congressional election. The subsequent events of that stormy and tumultuous evening end with everyone believing Turmoil has perished.
Shortly thereafter Rigging meets Mordeci Rake, an attorney who says he had periodically represented Turmoil. Rake claims to have seen Turmoil in a town far to the north living as a homeless person. Rigging begins investigating the claim, and when it appears to be true goes back to Rake to find out about Rake’s involvements with Turmoil.
Rake begins by telling Rigging a tale of debating computer programs designed to mimic the thought process of Karl Marx and Adam Smith. Their debate on the merits of the economic theories each has come to represent result in a Rake being entombed, only to be inadvertently rescued by his grumpy disrespect.

Then Rake relates an experience with Turmoil that involved a ludicrous legal mess that began with Turmoil lecturing neuroscientists on the need to take astrology seriously and ended in a lot of litigation to line Rake’s pockets.
In the meantime it has become apparent Turmoil has chosen life as a homeless person, despite Rigging’s best efforts to convince him to return to his life. Ultimately another women, April, the estranged wife of Roy, helps Turmoil find in himself the desire renewed purpose to resume his life. But the unresolved conflicts with the Roy culminate in events that profoundly change the world of everyone involved.

Turmoil involves timeless human themes - attachment, rejection, withdrawal and sudden loss, woven through a tapestry of Turmoil's wildly offbeat ambitions and projects.