AFTER A TERRIBLE INCIDENT WITH LOVE LEFT HER HEARTBROKEN AND JOBLESS, DOMINIQUE THROWS LOVE TO THE WIND AND IS ON THE PROWL FOR A RICH HUSBAND SHE CAN WRAP AROUND HER FINGER. WHEN BREWING MAGNATE CHARLES BRANDON TAKES A LIKING TO HER, SHE’S INEXPLICABLY APPREHENSIVE. BY SOME STROKE OF LUCK, CHARLES FELL HEAD OVER HEALS IN LOVE WITH DOMINIQUE THE MOMENT HE LAID EYES ON HER. HE HAS A COMPLEX ABOUT HIS LOOKS, HE’S OLDER AND HE’S EXTREMELY WEALTHY. HE’S THE PERFECT CANDIDATE FOR HER SCHEME! SO WHY IS SHE SO UNEASY?

Tanner Malone is starting to enjoy his navy post in the honor guard. After surviving violent conflicts with space pirates in the void, he hopes to stay out of the stars for a while. But when the government of Archangel, a prosperous Union state including four terraformed worlds, makes a dangerous decision to defy the Big Three's corporate dominance, war threatens the galaxy. The interstellar fighting escalates, and duty calls a reluctant Tanner to the front lines, where it becomes more and more difficult to tell the difference between politician, pirate, and protector. When secret intel reveals a vast network of bloody covert operations, along with a rigged economic system that enslaves its members, Tanner finds himself at the perilous intersection between the government, the Big Three, and pirates who will stop at nothing to remain free.

During World War I, thousands of rural southern men, black and white, refused to serve in the military. Some failed to register for the draft, while others deserted after being inducted. In the countryside, armed bands of deserters defied local authorities; capturing them required the dispatch of federal troops into three southern states. Jeanette Keith traces southern draft resistance to several sources, including whites' long-term political opposition to militarism, southern blacks' reluctance to serve a nation that refused to respect their rights, the peace witness of southern churches, and, above all, anger at class bias in federal conscription policies. Keith shows how draft dodgers' success in avoiding service resulted from the failure of southern states to create effective mechanisms for identifying and classifying individuals. Lacking local-level data on draft evaders, the federal government used agencies of surveillance both to find reluctant conscripts and to squelch antiwar dissent in rural areas. Drawing upon rarely used local draft board reports, Selective Service archives, Bureau of Investigation reports, and southern political leaders' constituent files, Keith offers new insights into rural southern politics and society as well as the growing power of the nation-state in early twentieth-century America.

Kathryn thought she knew Hugh Parkinson, a charming, rakish playboy who was used to women being served to him on a plate. In his eyes she was just his utterly efficient, slightly uptight assistant. Until she nearly lost the thing that mattered most to her, and unexpectedly Hugh was there to help: he was prepared to marry her! But the catch… Hugh wanted this convenient marriage to keep Kathryn not only as his trusty assistant—but also to warm his bed….

He wants her, and then he winsher…in a game of cards! TV star Rico Mandretti has wowed Sydney with his charm, good looks and love of cooking. However, besides pasta, the wealthy Italian-Australian harbors another passion! Renée Selensky despises him but he can't get her out of his head. If only he could seduce her and thereby forget her… Then Rico wins a game of cards—and Renée into the bargain. Now she's Rico's for a month—as his mistress, in his bed… and at his mercy!