The very rich American Hugh Fitzgerald, with a fetish, attends for a three-day experience taking him to Turkey, Scandinavia, China, and locally without ever leaving the lake.
Discontent, disgust, desperation, can trigger violent reactions. Desperate people do desperate things. Sometimes, their desperation leads to scorched earth tactics. Hopefully a lovely phoenix will arise from the ashes.
A story set in the Pinwheel Universe
A scientist is granted a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to the Trappist system, home of the Brokers, where no human has set foot before. A seemingly simple expedition grows more complicated as he is forced to balance the interests of his government and those of the enigmatic aliens who have requested his help.