In this complex, cutting-edge debut for fans of Neal Stephenson and "The Millennium Trilogy," a troubled hacker goes undercover to locate a vanished tech prodigy and finds himself at the center of a tantalizing, high-stakes revolution in virtual reality ("Publishers Weekly," starred review). IN THIS DEBUT THRILLER FOR FANS OF NEAL STEPHENSON AND THE MILLENNIUM TRILOGY, A TROUBLED HACKER FINDS HIMSELF AT THE CENTER OF A HIGH-STAKES REVOLUTION IN VIRTUAL REALITY. James Pryce, a hacker at Red Rook Security in Manhattan, has just received his most personal assignment yet. Blythe Randall, the woman who broke his heart in college, has hired him to locate her missing brother, Billy, whose increasingly violent stunts threaten to bring down their family s billion-dollar media empire. To do so, James must infiltrate Billy s last known whereabouts: GAME, a programming collective where a group of designers are at work on a top-secret invention that promises a revolutionary advance in sexual technology. James has to find Billy before his final plan is set in motion, but when the GAMErs invite him to their inner circle, his investigation takes a tantalizing and much more dangerous turn."

Part I of the book gives a brief history of Minnesota and Houston County. The main section, Part II of the book, comes from the Houston Valley Signal using excerpts as written by the editors. The Houston Signal was owned for many years by C. F. Schonlau and later his son G. L. Schonlau. Both were ardent supporters of Houston, as you will discover as you read their words. Besides fires and the fire department, the book includes articles about major items, fun items (check out the Ole parties), and ordinary life for the residents of the Houston area. Ads from those days give a glimpse into life from another time. Part III includes excerpts from the secretary's minutes, lists of firemen through the years and other items of interest.