Prize-winning investigative writer Valentina Garnier loves a good story, so when she learns that CIA director Agnes Pendalon wants her to travel to Kunashir Island in Russia's easternmost province, she jumps at the chance. Top scientists, political aides, CIA agents and even the vice president's daughter have made mysterious trips to the island in recent weeks, and all have come away changed. When Val arrives in Kunashir, she's mesmerized by a magical...

An environmental journalist in Washington, DC, Rachel has shunned her New England working-class family for years. Divorced and childless in her middle age, she's a true independent spirit with the pain and experience to prove it. Coping with challenges large and small, she thinks her life is in free fall--until she's summoned home to deal with the aftermath of her mother's death. Then things really fall apart. Surrounded by a cast of sometimes comic,...

Colette 'Coco' Weber has relocated to her Catalina Island home, where, twenty years before, she was the sole survivor of a deadly home invasion. All Coco wants is to see her aunt Gwen, get as far away from her ex as possible, and get back to her craft--writing obituaries. Thankfully, her college best friend, Maddy, owns the local paper and has a job sure to keep Coco busy, considering the number of elderly folks who are dying on the island. But as...

Hale Wheeler is fully committed to using his inherited billions for good and Elsa Cohen is fully committed to her celebrity news career, but after they meet to negotiate terms for an interview, their emotions cannot be denied.