Mary McPhee

The Third Memory Mary McPhee

Suddenly, in the explosion of an IED, all that he knew before is wiped out. But he is in one piece, unlike the others. A group of ISIS finds him and takes him to their encampment. He can speak but makes no sense. He does not even know who he is. During a bombing attack he escapes and makes his way to a Medicine without Borders clinic on the Syrian-Iraqi border. The doctors there diagnose him to have complete loss of memories of the past. Psychiatrists are visiting from Switzerland, and the man with no name is perfect for their research in cognitive rehabilitation. They call him "John Doe" and take him to Lausanne with them. Virtual reality techniques are used to jog a patient's injured mind into recalling his own memories. Two scenarios that could be from different stages of John's life are shown to him, and his blank mind soaks them up like a sponge. For the purposes of their own research, the doctors implant a third memory in his brain that contains grisly scenes of violence. When a young woman is murdered under similar circumstances, John confesses to the crime. A trial and publicity bring people from John's past life. An explosive act of violence in the courtroom causes him to regain his memory. With the help of a Swiss woman journalist, the guilty person is revealed. John-now using his real name-and the journalist begin a love affair.