Try turning the clock back two generations in time and experience the sweltering summer of fourteen-year-old Dalan Dawson-the new kid in town-as he meets the new neighborhood kids in the dusty, small, cotton-farming town of Coolidge, Arizona. His boring summer turns very interesting when Dalan first lays eyes on the brown-eyed, dark-haired Marie Palermo. She is special from his first shy glimpse of the sassy, rich, and very smart girl. Over the next few days, she leads him into an excitement-filled world of ancient intrigue when she invites him to help her explore a newly-uncovered desert...

Vacationing eye surgeon Sawyer Seely is stuck-literally-with an extended stay in Hawaii after incurring a horrible accident involving a garbage disposal, a flying salad fork, and his right eye socket. Forced to recuperate in a high-rise condo overlooking Honolulu, he hatches an impossibly bizarre plan, using priceless paintings from the island's art museum to save the local homeless shelter. A friendly insurance broker, a sultry nurse, billionaire Russian gangsters, and a curious detective all help weave the doctor's plot into a breath-holding adventure.