...and that's just the beginning. This book continues the adventures of the Cray family, stranded in the past in a parallel world where the desert of California is the land Rhadaz. Emerson's books never fail in characterization, adventure, or world-building. In SWORD, Chris Cray has started a trading business, seeking new technology for Rhadaz. He is also fishing for information about Zero, a deadly drug being smuggled into his adopted home country. When he offends the wrong drug lord while in the Caribbean, his punishment is marriage and then death. But Ariadne is a clever woman who knows of her father's evil deeds--and has a secret life of her own. Certain death averted, together they will seek the puzzle pieces of Zero manufacture and transport--even as they slowly build a friendship. Meanwhile, Chris's mother and aunt search for answers back in Rhadaz, as the drug cartel attempts to addict or kill the ruling families of the desert. The intrigue never lets up, and "night-threads", the unique magic of Rhadaz, continues to fascinate. Don't miss this series!