Stories of the Restoration

The future will bring technological revolutions and political upheaval, but some things are timeless. Money talks, trust is precious, and no plan survives contact with the enemy. The Friday before Restoration Week begins, Naomi Kwan's biggest fear is losing her job. By the end of the holiday, she is running for her life. Terrorists blow up her home, her best friend gets, arrested for killing a mugger, and total strangers try to murder them both in jail. They escape custody before the corrupt officials behind the attacks finish the job, but as conspiracies unravel on all sides, their luck is sure to run out. Carl Jenson and his brother Parker are government contractors hired to gather evidence against Naomi. When all hell breaks loose, the mission turns personal. They know Naomi is innocent, and they've made a career out of liberating people trapped by escalating violence. The hardest part of this job will be convincing Naomi they are on her side. A daring escape and a desperate rescue are only the beginning. Mysteries from Naomi's past will collide with Carl and Parker's many secrets, and unraveling the plots that tie them all together leads to explosive consequences. It's a simple plan: first get away, then fight back.

The future will bring technological revolutions and political upheaval, but some things are timeless. Lovers meet, lives change, and nothing ever goes as planned. This print edition brings together two novellas that get behind the scenes and into the personal lives of characters from the Stories of the Restoration novels. Turning the Work: When fate brings Carl Jenson to Felicity Chen's yarn shop, she sees dollar signs first, not a lover. Her thriving craft business keeps her too busy for fun-or so she tells herself. When she meets Carl, she decides time with tall, blond and mysterious would be an excellent investment. Carl Jenson gave up on love years ago. Spying for the government of the Restored United States isn't a career that comes with a future. Carl is content to drift along without commitments between jobs. Then his recuperating partner drags him to the knitter's shop on a side mission. Felicity is ready to grab opportunity with both hands, and she makes Carl an offer he would be a fool to refuse. A temporary arrangement is all he can afford, but that's all Felicity expects. It seems like a perfect bargain. In the end, they both get a better deal than they ever could've imagined. Joining In The Round: When Felicity Chen's thriving craft store burns to the ground, she swallows her pride and accepts the grudging help of her extended family. Any roof is better than none, but after three months of loving suffocation, Felicity is ready to jump at any chance to escape. Opportunity arrives in the form of strangers who bring unexpected news. Felicity spent her summer in the arms of a mysterious stranger who left without warning. Now he's back, and his friends are pleading for help only Felicity can provide. When they throw in an offer of sanctuary, she leaps without looking back.

The moment recruiter Joe Mitani meets Carl Jenson, he knows he's onto something special. Few of the teenagers he interviews have the rare blend of brains and heart needed for the internships he's filling. Even fewer come to the bargaining table with a psychically-gifted brother. Carl shows up with both and delivers an ultimatum: take them both, or get nothing. Joe takes the package deal. Finding suitable trainees for work at the bleeding edge of brain research is no easy task. Landing a prospect like Carl is worth the expense of adding a spare sibling to the roster. Eddie is as uniquely talented as he is volatile, and the Rydder Institute for Analytical Psychiatry specializes in developing exceptional talents. As far as Joe knows, there's every reason to believe two boys with extraordinary potential will thrive there. The secrets he doesn't know are the ones that will put Carl, Eddie, and many others in grave danger.

Forty-two years have passed since the Restored United States emerged from decades of chaos and revolution. The future is a brave new world, but some things never change. Money still talks, power still corrupts, and trust is a rare and precious commodity. When Alison Gregorio lands a cushy administrative job in a law office, she knows her big paycheck comes with strings attached. She expects long hours and unreasonable demands. She doesn't expect to be dodging assassins before she gets her first raise, but that's exactly what she ends up doing. A plane carrying the boss's biggest client disappears into limbo, and Alison's work on the estate reveals explosive secrets beneath the law firm's golden façade. Before long Alison is on the run with lethal secrets locked in memory and no idea where to turn for help. Staying alive is only the first challenge inventor Justin Wyatt faces after sabotage leaves him stranded in a frozen wasteland. Survival isn't enough. He needs to find out who betrayed him before his deadliest creations fall into the wrong hands. His biggest obstacle: the person holding the key to the mystery doesn't know he is still alive... and he doesn't know she exists. Justin enlists the help of strangers with their own hidden agendas to hunt down his enemies, and once fate brings Alison to their doorstep, there's no turning back. Either they untangle the mess of corporate intrigue and personal vendettas that brought them all together, or their common foe will destroy them all.