Beyond Paris

In
Beyond Paris
a young traveler is transformed
by his odyssey across parts of
Europe & Asia

In 1970 traditional paths to success, and the definition of success itself, were questioned. And so young people in their twenties went off to see the world, and in the process find themselves.

In Beyond Paris Paul Casper goes on such a journey. A journey that would change his life forever. A child of the Fifties and Sixties inspired by writers of the Twenties and Thirties, such as Hemingway and Maugham, Paul goes off to work in Paris -and through unimagined circumstances instead he sees an opportunity to become an entrepreneur and takes off to Afghanistan on the Orient Express to buy sought-after newly produced sheepskin coats and bring them back to London and sell them to make a small fortune.

Unforeseen problems develop and he becomes a traveler, seeing over 20 something countries in the next six months. Sometimes through freezing high mountain passes or sometimes through over 100 degree desolate roads traveling in a variety of ways and most without costing him anything, Casper goes through little by little a complete transformation from the people, adventures and mysteries he encounters along the way. Despite lack of finances and daily struggles with hunger, weather and transportation -- including run-ins with Communist border guards, chased by police and also actually jailed in some countries, unusual drugs and unforgettable women, and run-ins with trains, caves, strange islands, a major rock band and a dog that just might be a witch -- his openness to all that is new and trust in "an ethereal heavenly angel companion" make this a journey of hope and confidence in the future.

Beyond Paris is a tale of its time, a moment when innocence and uncertainty begin to fade, to be replaced with purpose and direction. Unfortunately Paul's journey ends with not enough money to get back home.