The West is entering its final phase, like the fall of Rome or the Late Merchant Phase of the various Chinese empires. It is slowly grinding to a halt as the inevitable problems multiply, with no obvious will to counter the decline. One man dreams of humanity becoming a multiplanet species in the hope of preserving the basics of human knowledge through the coming dark ages. The Great Powers have turned inward, and there is little political will for further space exploration. Funding is minimal, and technological innovation has slowed dramatically. He uses his skills as a fighter to fund his dreams and is, for a time, the heavyweight champion. Using his notoriety, he slowly gathers friends, seeking to find those who can make the dream a reality. Manon, who claws her way up from nothing to wealth; Elizabeth, the miner turned politician; and others help fund the space project. They set up a foundation to search for scientific geniuses in the most unlikely places, looking for children who perhaps can make the journey into space possible, but it is not clear that Earth has any interest in returning to the high frontier. Against a background of indifference, competing interests, and active discouragement, they do manage to establish small independent colonies on the moon and Mars; but the odds are great, protection is difficult, and long-term success is by no means assured. And there are malevolent forces moving in the world.

The West continues its precipitous decline. The ancient, magnificent, awe inspiring Christian Churches which had taken centuries to build, are burning all over Europe, and that tragedy and violence on the streets are becoming so commonplace that it barely is mentioned by the media. Even the most egregious terrorist outbreaks are passed over by politicians as something which occurs in big cities and the indigenous population should simply get used to it. Policing in most of the West has sunk to an all-time low. Rape of women and children has reached unprecedented levels. Crimes against property and person are largely ignored. Break and Entry now no longer even merits a police inspection. Horrifying acid attacks, where acid is thrown on a young woman, destroying her face, never before seen in Europe, are barely mentioned. Any vestige of ‘Free Speech’ has become a thing of the past and there is a return to the Thought Police of the Communist era. The Prometheus Group, a disparate collection of people who fear for the future of civilization, especially the unlikely Enlightenment concept of intrinsic individual human worth, have established small colonies on Mars and the moon. They continue to fly under the radar of public attention, as much as they can, while quickly expanding these colonies. The economic collapse of countries such as Greece had long been anticipated. Unsurprisingly, the economic situation in Canada suddenly deteriorates and the US President is forced to step in to prevent complete anarchy, which would threaten the undefended US northern border. Unwilling to involve the United States government directly, she asks the Prometheus Group for personnel to help oversee and assist the economic rescue of Canada, which the group agrees to with exceeding reluctance. More of the exceptional children continue to be sought by the Prometheus Group, and continue to be found in the most unlikely places. As before, they are mainly seeking girls whose genius would otherwise be missed. These children are enlisted into the effort to produce the science which will get as many people as possible into space, and speed the terraforming of Mars, before the cataclysm of civil war, which is now inevitable in Europe, and will likely spread to involve the world. Any extension of war outside Europe will inevitably result in a nuclear exchange with unimaginable destruction, as a single nuclear airburst could produce such an electromagnetic pulse as to wipe out all computers within the blast area. This disaster, multiplied many times over, and almost certainly aided by biological warfare, would produce a possible reversion to primitivism, tribalism and savagery or the establishment of a dystopian rigid unchangeable medieval philosophy.

The development of fusion power in the small colony established on Mars leads to an explosive outward emigration from Earth to the moons of the solar system. On Earth, increasing civil unrest in Europe has led to the election to positions of authority of three strong women: Leda in Germany, Madeleine in France, and La Marquesa in Spain. With the assistance of others--including Tomiko from Japan and Hinchcliffe, with her paramilitary organization, the Legion--order is restored, at least temporarily.The lives, loves, and deaths of these women are set against a world of conflict, hope, and despair, as they struggle to maintain civilization and allow further immigration to the high frontier in the face of malevolent opposition forces.

With small colonies established on the moon and on Mars, the Prometheus Group struggles to increase the number of people living off Earth before widespread breakdown of civilization occurs in the Western world and catastrophic numbers try to escape, leading inevitably to overcrowding and conflict, which would likely see the colonies fail. A major war on Earth would mean the loss of the ability to resupply space colonies, so establishing independence is a priority. There is a continued search for children with extraordinary abilities to help with the space project. Some of the earliest of these children, now adults, realize unwillingly that space alone is not yet an option, and they will almost certainly have to fight a bloody rearguard action to retain, for a while, freedom in the free world to buy more time for the colonies. A major conflict on Earth is inevitable, and clearly, it will begin in Europe. The only question is, What will be the catalyst, and will it remain local or spread to involve the whole world? The Prometheus Group believes that America is likely to remain a bastion of freedom, so it will be necessary to relocate from a dying Europe. The presidency of the US becomes of crucial importance for long-term survival. They feel it is crucial that the US stay out of the coming European civil war.

A noir novel of love, intrigue, and violence amid the declining and increasingly chaotic Western world. Lauren, a professional assassin, now married and with a child, attempts to walk away from her previous life. Unfortunately, a series of events forces her to use her old skills, again and again. Qian, leader of a triad based in Hong Kong, one of her previous employers, seeking to separate Vancouver from Canada to create an independent country, like Singapore, forces her to carry out further assignments. Jazz, a Toronto born budding artist was taken prisoner in the UK and forced to be a sex slave in the Middle East. Rescued by Qian’s son, Jazz is now her daughter in law. She finds herself playing an increasing role leading to Vancouver’s independence. The tensions and mistrust among these three women gradually worsens with time. Who will die or make die?

"Touching the Face of God" is the fascinating true story of John Gillespie Magee, Jr., author of the poem "High Flight." Magee composed his famous poem while serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force in England during World War II. Magee's "High Flight" gathered world-wide notice from such luminaries as Winston Churchill, King George IV, Helen Keller, Orson Welles, Tyrone Power, and Katherine Hepburn. The poem has been used countless times in music, books, movies and speeches. The history of John Magee and his famous poem have been told several times, but this book seeks to tell his complete and compelling story. From his birth in China to his entrance into WWII as a combat pilot, "Touching the Face of God" is a story of true love, courage, compassion and commitment.