Marienna's Fantasy — John Sheffield

Marienna Cronson, the daughter of Cretan immigrants, lives in Argos County Texas. It is a male-dominated society, headed by her half-brother Zachary. Forty years earlier, Marienna wrote four plays about the Greek gods, in which the families have established roles. Marienna--Athena--believes their roles may be real. She plays out this fantasy through her godson Henry Everett Festus, the god of technology--Hephaestus. Henry is miserable and bored working for Zachary. Marienna persuades him to repeat the "so-called" Labors of Heracles. The first of these is to find the Loch Ness Monster. Other Labors follow, seemingly by chance. Finally, his translation of the Phaestos Disk leads to a treasure hunt on Crete. Henry's selfish focus on work and a cruel trick he plays on his wife, Dawn, drive her and their daughter away. While completing the Labors, Henry strives to recover his family and be free from Zachary.