Deep within the emerald labyrinth of the Amazonian basin, an ancient memory refuses to succumb to the erosion of time. The Mapinguary, often described in indigenous lore as a colossal beast with a gaping maw on its abdomen and a singular, terrifying eye, wanders the archaic forests. This cryptid is not merely a phantom of folklore; rather, it is thought by esoteric scholars to be the lingering echo of the Megatherium, the giant ground sloth that supposedly perished at the end of the Pleistocene epoch. Yet, in the hidden alcoves of the jungle, time operates differently, preserving what orthodox history claims is lost.

Percy Fawcett was a British explorer who did not seek only a city of gold. In the early twentieth century he searched the Amazon for a lost settlement he called Z. For many readers, Fawcett's quest is one of the strangest stories of exploration, a mix of real adventure, legend and esoteric symbolism. His story is also a warning about how a dream can grow stronger than the evidence that supports it. The mystery of Z still attracts writers, filmmakers and seekers today. Who Percy Fawcett was Fawcett was a British army officer and surveyor. He worked on the mapping of the border between Bolivia and Brazil, and he became fascinated with the rivers and forests of the Amazon. Over several expeditions, he became convinced that a large and ancient civilization had once existed deep in the jungle. He based his belief on the stories of local peoples, on clues he thought he saw in the landscape and on a wide reading of old legends. His own writings show a deep respect for the forest and...

In the summer of 1925, a British colonel named Percy Harrison Fawcett plunged into the dense green vastness of the Brazilian Amazon in search of a ruined city he was certain lay hidden somewhere in the unmapped interior. He took with him his elder son, Jack, and Jack's close friend, Raleigh Rimell, along with a small party of porters and pack animals. On the twenty-ninth of May, from a place he called Dead Horse Camp, he sent out a last message by runner, telling his wife not to fear failure. Then the three Englishmen walked north into the trees, and the forest closed behind them. They were never seen again. In the century since, more than a hundred people are said to have died or vanished trying to find out what became of them, and the fate of Colonel Fawcett has become one of the greatest mysteries in the whole history of exploration.