A dispute over a recently unearthed inheritance, worth millions, pits a deceased woman against her elderly living children in a compelling trial that tests the implausible claim of reincarnation’s legitimacy in a court of law.

When psychologist Carol Klein’s previous life is revealed in vivid detail through hypnosis, she begins an arduous quest filled with twists and turns to verify her recent past as the heiress-activist, Iris Middleton Paulson. With the aid of an Asian physician-mystic and her skeptical, politically ambitious attorney-fiancé, this mismatched team builds a fact-by-fact case to prove her claim. A landmark trial sets off a firestorm as riveting testimony from authorities in science, medicine and religion puts our fundamental understanding of life and death at risk—shattering beliefs in a final mortality. The ensuing trial threatens to upend legal, medical and religious institutions worldwide.

More truth than fiction, Prelude is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand the purpose of life.