Maximilian Fausto is on a mission. His dead mother set him the task of collecting her personal journals, but he quickly discovers that the elusive journals are not so easy to find. And he begins to suspect that his mother planned this journey for his personal growth. He's suspicious and depressed by nature, and he chafes against any attempt to right himself with the world.

Things get rough for Max. He's snared in a destructive love affair; he tangles with an Evangelical family; he narrowly escapes a drug lord's wrath. But working with his fractious family--a brother disabled in Vietnam, a well-meaning but alcoholic uncle, an angry father and a handful of dotty aunts--Max learns the evanescent quality of true love.

This odyssey is filled with heartache as well as joy, with the struggles and triumphs played out against a backdrop of profound longing and deep hope.

A government raid goes terribly wrong and a young mother is murdered. No one in Cressida's family is prepared for the consequences of that tragedy. Her lover, Simon, escapes into hiding and the couple's small daughter, Enid, is left in her grandmother's care.

Revenge becomes paramount for Simon's stepfather, Colin Humphrey, as he ruthlessly pursues a wrongful death lawsuit against the government. But the other members of her family struggle painfully to come to grips with their horrible loss. Cressida's aunts and uncles want to help but they find themselves paralyzed by the senseless killing. Finally, Cressida's two cousins, Valerie and Melody, set out on a mission to find Simon. But an unexpected stranger from Simon's past complicates the difficult work of repairing this damaged family.

Like a giant puzzle with its pieces hopelessly scattered, "In The Clear" tells the story of a family moving painfully, but inexorably toward healing.

When Philip Muts moves to Philadelphia for a less-than-exciting job as a clinical psychologist, his first challenge is a case needing quick resolution. Philip's patient is a delusional soldier named Paul Handy who claims he's reincarnated from a Revolutionary War assassin. He's called Hollywood Handy for the fantastic tales he tells, and Paul's commanding officer thinks he's faking his mental illness.

With the help of Mary Scots, US Army nurse, Philip begins a frustrating journey to uncover the disturbing truth that's painfully locked up inside his patient. Philip discovers the complex parallel life that Paul lives through reflective trances with his two-hundred-year-old doppelganger.

The Army wants a clean bill of mental health so it can proceed with a court martial, but Philip resists as he digs deeper into the mysterious suffering of Paul Handy. Philip's creative psychological detective work leads to a startling resolution in this fast-paced, suspense-filled novel.

Lake Yew Summer Arts Festival is in for a bumpy ride when L.A. director Jackson Stockade descends on tiny Hester College in rural North Carolina to direct the summer Shakespeare play.

Maximilian Fausto is on a mission. His dead mother set him the task of collecting her personal journals, but he quickly discovers that the elusive journals are not so easy to find. And he begins to suspect that his mother planned this journey for his personal growth. He's suspicious and depressed by nature, and he chafes against any attempt to right himself with the world.

Things get rough for Max. He's snared in a destructive love affair; he tangles with an Evangelical family; he narrowly escapes a drug lord's wrath. But working with his fractious family--a brother disabled in Vietnam, a well-meaning but alcoholic uncle, an angry father and a handful of dotty aunts--Max learns the evanescent quality of true love.

This odyssey is filled with heartache as well as joy, with the struggles and triumphs played out against a backdrop of profound longing and deep hope.

A government raid goes terribly wrong and a young mother is murdered. No one in Cressida's family is prepared for the consequences of that tragedy. Her lover, Simon, escapes into hiding and the couple's small daughter, Enid, is left in her grandmother's care.

Revenge becomes paramount for Simon's stepfather, Colin Humphrey, as he ruthlessly pursues a wrongful death lawsuit against the government. But the other members of her family struggle painfully to come to grips with their horrible loss. Cressida's aunts and uncles want to help but they find themselves paralyzed by the senseless killing. Finally, Cressida's two cousins, Valerie and Melody, set out on a mission to find Simon. But an unexpected stranger from Simon's past complicates the difficult work of repairing this damaged family.

Like a giant puzzle with its pieces hopelessly scattered, "In The Clear" tells the story of a family moving painfully, but inexorably toward healing.

When Philip Muts moves to Philadelphia for a less-than-exciting job as a clinical psychologist, his first challenge is a case needing quick resolution. Philip's patient is a delusional soldier named Paul Handy who claims he's reincarnated from a Revolutionary War assassin. He's called Hollywood Handy for the fantastic tales he tells, and Paul's commanding officer thinks he's faking his mental illness.

With the help of Mary Scots, US Army nurse, Philip begins a frustrating journey to uncover the disturbing truth that's painfully locked up inside his patient. Philip discovers the complex parallel life that Paul lives through reflective trances with his two-hundred-year-old doppelganger.

The Army wants a clean bill of mental health so it can proceed with a court martial, but Philip resists as he digs deeper into the mysterious suffering of Paul Handy. Philip's creative psychological detective work leads to a startling resolution in this fast-paced, suspense-filled novel.

Henry Cooper, an aspiring San Francisco screenwriter, has his first real writing job scripting a B-movie. The melodramatic story takes place on a coffee plantation in Africa during WWI, and although it isn't what Henry would call art, it's a potential break for his early career.

Lake Yew Summer Arts Festival is in for a bumpy ride when L.A. director Jackson Stockade descends on tiny Hester College in rural North Carolina to direct the summer Shakespeare play.