Another year brings another handful of planets for Lisa to visit, as her struggle to rebuild society generations after the "Savage Rain" continues. These journeys won't be like any other Lisa and her friends have taken. One world was devastated by a mysterious disaster in the past. On another world, an ancient machine is still running. And past that second world is Earth. Why didn't Earth stop the Savage Rain? Can they help Lisa's effort? What will Lisa discover when she goes through that last hyperspace gate?

Dr. Burley Chaplin, a retired neurologist, reports for work at a free clinic and is assigned a medical student to teach - Rodnie Jones. Recovering from his wife's fatal accident, he quickly succombs to her exotic charms and street savvy ways. She leads him unwarily into her mysterious past, largely unknown even to her, a journey that threatens to destroy them both.

Jake Bonner, the hero of Expert Assistance, Haven, and Janitorial Service, is back in this new short novel. The richest men in known space are gathering together, just as several colony worlds are creating an interstellar alliance. Something's up, and Jake's asked to find out what that is. He calls in favors from his friends from past adventures to get to the bottom of what those wealthy men are planning. Jake's going to need his wits, his cool ship, and his pals to pull off the greatest scam in galactic history. Can they do it, and with style and snark?

Owen Brown has followed his father, John Brown, and his brothers to Kansas Territory to fight the wicked institution of slavery. He's met one of the native medicine men of the Territory, who teaches him something the white men call "magic." Owen encourages his father to learn native magic. It could be a tool in their struggle against the nation's great sin, slavery. John Brown is persuaded, and the two learn from the native. Over the next decade, Owen will use magic in the service of his cause. It will take him across the Territory during "Bleeding Kansas," and across the nation when the...