"Bruce Cable owns a popular bookstore in the sleepy resort town of Santa Rosa on Camino Island in Florida. He makes his real money, though, as a prominent dealer in rare books. Very few people know that he occasionally dabbles in the black market of stolen books and manuscripts. Mercer Mann is a young novelist with a severe case of writer's block who has recently been laid off from her teaching position. She is approached by an elegant, mysterious...

Viewing an apartment normally doesn't turn into a life-or-death situation, but this particular open house becomes just that: a failed bank robber bursts in and takes everyone in the apartment hostage. As police surround the premises and television channels broadcast the hostage situation live, the eight strangers begin opening up to one another. Before long, the robber must decide which is the more terrifying prospect: going out to face the police,...

A single crimson rose and a plane ticket to Stockholm neatly mailed in a mysterious package sound like the formula for a romantic weekend. And a note in the bottom of the box fuels Vicky's already insatiable curiosity--it is written in an archaic language even the capable Dr. Bliss cannot decipher. Is she embarking on a journey of romance or something else?