Douglas Jamiel 
Tears of the Virgin 

Wealthy Denver businessman and politician Ramon del Fuego has two obsessions: possessing the storied golden religious icon, the Madonna d”Oro, for himself, and becoming Denver”s mayor. Though the statue”s existence is in doubt, del Fuego hires Gulf War Veteran Paul Worthing to follow Karl Lieber, the one man, he is convinced, who knows where the Madonna d”Oro can be found. When del Fuego is led to what he discovers is instead a wooden copy, he is enraged. However, the faux Madonna appears to have its own ’miraculous’ powers, setting in motion a course of events that shines a light on the effect and persistence of religious myth in the modern world and its often-destructive consequences for politics and women”s rights.