The Niche of Sao Tiago

Antonio, a young Portuguese-Canadian, travels from his home in Canada back to Portugal to pay his respects at the grave of his recently deceased grandmother. This simple trip, however, sparks a series of life-changing events. Next to that of his grandmother is the grave of Padre Manuel Antonio Gomes Himalaya—priest, scientist, inventor, ecologist and humanist. Intrigued, Antonio seeks to learn more about his fellow countryman and finds himself retracing the steps of the remarkable nineteenth century priest through France, Great Britain, the United States, and Argentina. Then a chance encounter with an American tourist leads him to the solar furnace, an extraordinary invention that Himalaya exhibited at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, and has not been seen since.
But what secret is the furnace hiding? What is Himalaya trying to tell him and the world? And who should he listen to? His desire to get ahead in the life, or the needs of his heart…