Prologue

On the outskirts of a small town on Vancouver Island, Canada, there had been several inexplicable sightings of what can only be described as an "angel." On each occasion, the witnesses had been exclusively females and their reporting of the apparition had been consistent and perplexing to authorities. Out of a "bright light" in the forest, the women reported, would step a "beautiful young woman." Seen to be simply dressed and without coat or gloves in the cold of winter, she would timidly approach them to make a special request. The phenomenon would not go away nor be restricted to Canada as the reporting spread across an unfathomable distance and with impressive consequences that would ultimately change the world. Each of the women who witnessed the phenomenon over the next months confirmed the stunning character to be shockingly engulfed in a nimbus of light. Yet her appearance left them feeling "peaceful," and "beguiled." More sightings would continue across the continents, and by year's end, extraordinary stories by other women had amassed globally---all about the elusive young figure they would simply call "The Winter Angel."