Marcus Bach, a researcher in primitive and exotic religions, and his photographer wife, Lorena, arrive in Haiti. Their purpose - to penetrate a religion which has been forbidden to outsiders. The ancient rites of Voodoo. Strangely, a white man is their guide. Stanley Reser, an enigmatic American doctor, is rumored to be a Voodoo priest; on his arm flicker a tattooed red dragon. The three watch the mambos chant their prayers to the snake god Damballa; dance their homage to the pulsation of jungle drums; draw their sacred symbols on the beaten earth. The faithful walk through flames, possessed by the spirits of the Ioas, the immortal Voodoo saints. Here where the supernatural prevails. Bach discovers a dynamic Christianity, the deep-felt religion of those who worship at Strange Altars.-print ed.