The John Coventry Story Series

"I Was, I Am, I Will Be" chronicles the life of a young British man, born into wealth, prestige and a family name dating back to the 1600's. But this storied background isn't enough to save John Coventry from the lure of easy money when the opportunity arises.    When the wheels of the fraud fall off and the authorities close in, Coventry is faced with a life changing decision.  Work undercoverfor the British Government's Customs and Excise Department or go toprison.  To save his own skin, he chooses to help the government by secretly collecting information on a gang of drug runners.  Coventry soon discovers the gang is smuggling more than drugs and is highlyconnected to terrorists in both Ireland and France.  Now working with British Intelligence as well as the Customs and Excise Department, herelays information about IRA plans to smuggle arms and illicit drugsinto the United Kingdom, as well as giving the authorities the low-downon the people involved.   Feeling frightened and alone, he takes comfort in the arms of Michelle, a well-known member of the Action Directe terrorist group in France.  Passion ignites, and the two become improbable lovers, foreverconnected by a deep seeded bond.  But she has no idea he's a spy, andCoventry is torn between his love for her and his obligation to theBritish Government.  Along the way, he learns of the connection betweenMichelle's Action Directe group and the notorious Baader Meinhoff gang, a left wing terrorist group in Germany.  He realizes her convictions tothe cause are incredibly fervent and is terrified he will loose her tothe violence.  Already in enough trouble of his own, Coventry knows heshould walk away, but the love he feels for Michelle keeps him in a stranglehold.   Michelle is unwilling to drag him deeper into her dangerous world, and begs Coventry to leave Britain and escape to South Africawhere her connections in the South African Army will keep him safe.During one of her visits to South Africa, Michelle hands him a cardinscribed with the words, "I Was, I Am, I Will Be".  He has no idea what it means and is left puzzled by her goodbye.  Missing both Michelle and his family, he finally decides he's had enough of being undercover andon the run and arranges his return to Britain.  Going home means certain jail time but Coventry is ready to pay the punishment for his crime.It's the only way to break free from the government's grip.   While in prison, he's severely beaten by IRA insiders looking for some payback, so the government reduces his sentence and sets himfree.  Upon his release, he's shocked to hear of Michelle's death andthe secret she'd kept hidden from him.  The Customs and Excise Department offers him more undercover work, but Coventry has had enoughof their fun and games and decides that maybe he'd be better offstarting a new life in the United States.   As much as he hates to leave England and his family, he knows a fresh start is for the best and boards a plane for the flight toAmerica.  Sitting in his American hotel room, sipping on a tall, stiff drink, he opens the newspaper to read that the Baader Meinhoff gang has decided to stop their terrorist attacks.  The newspaper story ends with a message from Baader Meinhoff, "I Was, I Am, I Will Be."  A chill runsdown his spine as he remembers the inscription on Michelle's card.  Hecan't help but reflect on everything he's been through over the last few years and wonders, "What the hell was I thinking?"

Reeling from the violent death of Michelle, the love of his life but a dangerous French terrorist, and the emptiness of never seeing their son Pierre, John Coventry sets off for a fresh start in Los Angeles. Unnerved by the Intelligence officers’ parting words, "You can never leave us John", he hopes to disappear into the crowd and put his time working as an undercover agent in the Intelligence Services behind him. Recurring nightmares haunt and torment John, driving him to the very brink of insanity. As a means of escape, he dives head first into the Hollywood Celebrity scene of parties, sex, drinking, and drugs. While his friendships with the famous and the constant blur of the nightlife numbs his senses, he cannot shake the past and his feelings that he was responsible for Michelle's death. Determined to make amends, he begins the heart wrenching and painstaking process of searching for his long lost son. Unbeknownst to John, watching and waiting in the shadows are both the Intelligence services and the surviving terrorists, who now know that John had been a plant in their midst. Armed with the knowledge that Rondell, Michelle’s best friend and former terrorist, had fled the bloody Police ambush with the baby Pierre in her arms, and had trekked across France to her Aunt’s in Germany, John leaves Los Angeles and rents a small cottage in the wilds of Normandy. Lonely but determined, he attempts to track the surnames of Michelle and Rondell’s aunt but nothing appears in any searches or registries. A distraught John wonders if his dreams of reconnecting with Pierre would ironically die, not far from where he and Michelle shared so much love and laughter. As his nightmares intensify, John seeks the confidence of his actor friend Vincent Schiavelli, who advises him the only way to rid his head of the demons is to write a memoir of his extraordinary life. As the mist settles over his small cottage, John begins the intense journey, reliving memories he’d buried and recounting times he only wanted to forget. In the middle of his writing, he receives an agonizing telephone call from his brother in England - his mother has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Stunned and horrified, he immediately returns to England, determined to support and nurse his mother through her terrible illness. One bright sunny morning, John returns from running errands to find his mother in a very agitated state. Two dark-suited men had been poking around, asking her personal questions, and inquiring as to his whereabouts. Worse, the dreaded question, "Is the child here?” It didn’t take John long to figure out the men were part of the Intelligence services. What did they want now? Would they ever leave him and his family alone? The past he fought so desperately to escape just kept creeping back. How long had they been watching him? We’re they the only ones? With the death of his darling mother, John was alone, alone with his thoughts and alone with his nightmares. The pain of his past was always present. His search for Pierre, while not over, had continually come up empty, leaving John with the reality that he might never know what happened to his son, and like Michelle, they would never have a future together. One night as John is checking emails, he comes across an inquiry about his search for Pierre and a return telephone number. His curiosity piqued, he calls the number and connects with a young man, who was very interested in John and the time he had spent in Jersey, Channel Islands. He tells John his name is Peter and that he lives in St. Helier, near St. Brelades Bay in the Channel Islands. John’s heart stops. Could this Peter be Pierre - his Pierre? A real life drama of a father's love for his son.