Primordial Vault

Lieutenant Colonel Carl Malek emerges from World War II and Korea as a leading ace and recipient of the Medal of Honor. In 1956 he acquires a trophy wife. They head for West Germany where he is to command a fighter squadron at a NATO airbase. His career appears on track for stars on his epaulets, but Malek is a troubled soul. His family has a long history of suicide, and the specter of death by his own hand has haunted him throughout his life. Since childhood, demons have visited Carl Malek in his sleep.

Two other women and a child drive the story forward as Malek faces other problems in the introduction of a new all weather interceptor. Malek's forte is the aerial dog fight, and he views this computer-driven radar mission with distrust. His anxiety grows.

Captain Paul Oxner adds to Malek's fret. The son of a West Virginia self-taught preacher, Paul Oxner began studying Scripture as soon as he was old enough to read. At 28 he still reads the Bible daily, and his faith remains resolute. Yet his life is flawed. After a combat tour in Korea, Paul Oxner receives orders assigning him to Malek's squadron. Oxner's allegiance to Malek is steadfast and unwavering.

Baleful events erode Oxner's loyalty to Malek, and a mutual enmity ensues. Assault, manslaughter, murder and the unsolved deaths of two pilots in flight propel the story toward a climactic aerial duel and unexpected conclusion.

Rooted in the ethos of mid-twentieth century America, Primordial Vault is a splendid, memorable story of American airmen and their families minutes away from the Iron Curtain with the Cold War at its height. Budapest explodes. The Soviet Union launches Sputnik One while America falters in the dawn of the space race. Other crucial international events occur in this account of men and women in love and in danger during a pivotal period in world history.