In 1997 Saudi Arabia, American teacher Arden Armstrong and Saudi archeologist Faisal Abdul Aziz aren't even supposed to look at each other, let alone admit any attraction, but their separate struggles for progress in the Kingdom bring them into an unlikely - and dangerous - alliance.

It's tough to compete in the global marketplace when you're an American stuck in Paris during the biggest anti-U.S. protests in European history. No wonder Tyler Harding is tired He just wants to strike an agreement for his telecom company and get some sleep. But the intriguing Frenchwoman in charge of his deal intends to wake him up - in more ways than one. Meanwhile, in the company's Milwaukee branch, account exec Carly Emerald is juggling the demands of her defense-contract client and its government promoter; her increasingly obsessive lover; her cancer-stricken mother; and the office security monitor handing out duct tape to secure the windows. Tyler and Carly cannot seem to catch a break, but when they catch sight of each other during a videoconference set up by Carly to enlist Tyler's help with her awful London client, sparks fly ... until a their company's international accounting scandal threatens not only their fledgling friendship but their entire careers. Private Lines begins during the same events as Ian McEwan's "Saturday," but its point of view is uniquely - and poignantly - American.

In 1972, a time of tumultuous political and social change, Clare and Lowell are idealists on opposite ends of the spectrum. Lowell is an ambitious grad student expecting an elite career in the Foreign Service and Clare is an earnest freshman antiwar activist. When they meet at Indiana University, an unlikely passion begins. Detours is a sensual and intelligent romance exploring politics, culture, and self-discovery in a story that spans more than a decade and travels from the States to Beirut, Mexico City, and Kuwait. The journey is spellbinding and unforgettable.