It's 1936, and Farrell is a New Orleans nightclub owner who has dipped his fingers in crime more than once. He also has a secret, that if discovered, could destroy everything he's fought to have. A dirty cop is murdered, a mob boss blackmails Farrell into working for him. Now, Farrell must find out who commited the murder and why, or his secret will be revealed.
Tomi was born in Hawaii. His grandfather and parents were born in Japan, and came to America to escape poverty. World War II seems far away from Tomi and his friends, who are too busy playing ball on their eighth-grade team, the Rats. But then Pearl Harbor is attacked by the Japanese, and the United States declares war on Japan. Japanese men are rounded up, and Tomi’s father and grandfather are arrested. It’s a terrifying time to be Japanese in America. But one thing doesn’t change: the loyalty of Tomi’s buddies, the Rats.
The only one who can free him is the girl he’s hurt the most. Cursed for a youthful accident which maimed a young woman, Léon Beauregard roams his mountain as a bear, clinging to the scraps of his humanity. Too bad it’s not working. Every day he loses a little more of himself to the bear and his stupid fuzzy tail. But when Léon comes across Anwen, an enchanter scarred from an accident she doesn’t remember, she promises to free him, because she believes no one deserves this sort of punishment, no matter their crime. As the graceful enchanter tries to free him, Léon begins to realize Anwen is much more than just a passing enchanter. She’s the one he’s falling in love with. And she is the one whose life he ruined. He knows he must hide his part in Anwen’s past if he wants to keep her, but when bodies show up mauled by a large animal, even she begins to doubt his ability to be redeemed. With his heart, soul, and humanity in the balance, Léon has more to hide and everything to lose if Anwen ever learns the truth about the monster inside him.
What if biological transmitting devices that were able to be implanted into human beings, thus allowing others to listen in on their private conversations, became a reality? How could these devices be unknowingly inserted into their living hosts, and what evil machinations could result in yet one more example of man's inhumanity to his fellow man? Such is the premise for SKIN DEEP, where doctor is pitted against doctor, and a beautiful scientist, vying for her lover's affection, is willing to destroy anyone who gets in her way. Enmeshed between the medical malpractice trial of the century, a major epidemic threatening to wipe out the world's population, and a scheme to reap billions of dollars in profit, the novel winds its way from courtroom to bedroom in an ever enlarging circle of greed, corruption, and death. Will humankind be changed forever? The answer lies merely skin deep.
