Leonard Meltsner

Leonard Meltsner is the long-lost father of Eugene Meltsner. He and his wife Thelma were kidnapped during an archaeological expedition in Africa's Ashanti region when Eugene was seven. Leonard then spent twenty years as a hostage at a dig controlled by the ruthless archaeologist Dalton Kearn. After escaping, he believed for years that his young son had died in a train crash. Reunited with Eugene at last, he must live warily, for Kearn still hunts him. Leonard is proud, guarded, and slow to trust, and old bitterness makes faith difficult for him. Even so, he deeply loves his son. He comes to admire Eugene's work with children, welcomes his daughter-in-law Katrina, and finds a steadying friend in Whit.