Jasmine Cresswell has crafted another sexy, compelling, contemporary spy story. For Verity Marlowe, all that was good in life ended with the death of her vibrant young husband, Sam, six months ago. Since then, she's been on leave from her job with the State Department, drifting along in a haze of self-pity and vodka. That ends when she receives two surprising visits. The first is from Sam's ghost, telling her to get a grip, get back to work, and even to start dating. The other is from Michael Strait, a rogue agent who was Sam's best friend: the only other man Verity ever considered loving. Michael tells her that an explosive situation has developed involving foreign governments, and Verity is the woman of the hour. The State Department needs her connections, a mysterious informant will deal only with her, and Michael claims to need her both on the job and in his arms. Suddenly, Verity has no choice but to come back to life and prove she hasn't lost her edge amid all the deadly complexities of the high-stakes world of international terrorism. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game against a fanatic, and Verity is not only fighting for the security of the U.S., but for the promise of life itself -- with Michael by her side.