In that instant, I saw a glimpse of who he must have been once, the man who Livia could have loved. The brother who'd tried to protect Marielle.

I walked to the door. "Good luck, Jessop. I mean it."

The house smelled of burnt beef, alcohol wipes, and plastic sheeting. I walked with my head down, a hand clamped over my nose as I dodged members of the Secret Service, coroner, and forensics teams.

I was sure that Ho could appear at any moment and tell me Jessop had changed his mind, so I turned and headed for a side door. My heart was racing as I threw it open and burst out into the clean night air.

I stood in the shadows, breathing deeply, before I fixed the baseball cap and hoodie over my hair. A long line of news trucks hugged the compound wall. If Jessop had told me the truth, Yates was somewhere in the noisy crowd gathered by the open gate.

Police cruisers, ambulances, and a coroner's van choked the driveway near the house. I threaded my way through them, trying to pick Yates out of the swarm. I didn't want to walk up into the floodlights only to discover he'd gone.

Everything looked bleached out and distorted in the harsh white lights. But as my eyes adjusted, I thought I spied him leaning over a metal police barrier, trying to get an officer's attention.

The light carved out his cheeks and his deep-set eyes. I felt myself begin to smile and walked faster.

Yates shifted from leg to leg. Then the officer spoke into the communicator on his shoulder and I saw Yates' head snap around so he was looking right at me. Then the officer motioned Yates over the barrier.

And that is the moment I broke into a run.

From "Malibu: One Year Later"

New York Times, December 23 One year after Vice President Mark Jouvert was a.s.sa.s.sinated at the home of California Governor-elect Jessop Hawkins, the political landscape of the United States has shifted. Paternalist leaders are under fire, and many like former senator Harry Fletcher, the highest-ranking member of Congress, have resigned, facing allegations of influence peddling, kickbacks, and coercion of governmental and nongovernmental ent.i.ties.

Much of this change is owed to two intrepid Washington Post reporters, Jay Fleming and Mustafa Homa, whose Pulitzer Prizewinning investigation into the self-immolation of Sparrow Currie on the U.S. Capitol grounds revealed Vice President Jouvert's secret deals with the kingdom of Saudi Arabia that linked the deliberate, systematic curtailment of women's rights in the U.S. to trillion-dollar, no-interest loans.

But credit is also due to the fearless action of Ms. Aveline Reveare, who at the Signing of her now-cancelled Contract with Governor-elect Hawkins posed for the media in the outfit now known as the Dress That Launched a Thousand Indictments ...

The Paternalist Party has entered a period of self-examination, spurred in part by Jessop Hawkins' attempts to lead a nationwide dialogue about the future of the party and to a.s.sist the political campaigns of young, reform-minded candidates ...

While American colleges and universities have remained for the most part closed to women, California inst.i.tutions Stanford, Pomona, and UC Berkeley have announced plans to reopen their campuses following the pledge of additional funds for student safety from Governor-elect Hawkins. Ms. Reveare is expected to join the Stanford freshmen cla.s.s next fall....

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS.

1. Do you think it was selfish or selfless of Avie to leave Yates at the hospital when the police arrived?

2. Avie hesitates about carrying the evidence against the Paternalists. Do you sympathize with her? What would you do in her situation?

3. Avie and Luke are helped by numerous strangers during their journey, but by accepting help, they put innocent people in danger. Do you feel Avie and Luke are justified in doing this?

4. Streicker smuggles girls to Canada for money, while Father Gabriel does it because it's morally right. If both risk their lives to save girls from unwanted marriages, aren't they both heroes?

5. Why do you think Avie stays with Luke when she's convinced they can't succeed in getting the evidence to Maggie's contacts in Washington?

6. Avie finds herself pulled between her first love, Yates, who she may never see again, and Luke, who offers her love and a future in the mountains. Who do you think Avie should be with and why?

7. On this part of her journey, Avie witnesses girls being auctioned in various ways. How do these auctions differ, and which are better or worse for girls?

8. Avie is forced to choose again and again whether to save herself, save someone she loves, or fight for a cause greater than herself. When does she make good calls, and when does she make the wrong choices?

9. Why does Avie blame herself for what Zara does to her father? What do you feel Avie could have done differently?

10. When Avie arrives at Hawkins' compound she thinks she has him figured out, but she discovers things about him she never expected. What were you surprised to learn about him? Did it change your opinion of him?

11. Avie's mother once told her, "Loss makes some people more human, and others less." How has loss affected the main characters in the story?

12. Helen, aka Sigmund Rath, tells Hawkins that "Fashion is message." What are some of the ways that clothing is used to communicate ideas in the story?

13. When Hawkins retrieves Avie, she's not the same girl he first met. How is Avie different, and how does that affect their relationship?

14. In the final chapter, Avie suspects that Deeps and Helen/Sigmund might have been partners in more ways than one. What does she suspect and why?

15. As the book ends, the author leaves hints about the futures of Avie, Yates, Luke, and Hawkins. What do you imagine their futures will be in a few years?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

CATHERINE LINKA was almost thrown out of boarding school for being "too verbal." Fortunately, she learned to channel her outspokenness and creative energy into writing. A pa.s.sionate traveler who has visited Iceland, the Amazon, and the Arctic Circle, Catherine has seen five types of whales in the wild, but no orcas. Yet. She doesn't believe in fate, but she did fall in love with her husband on their first date when he laced up her boots because she had a broken hand.

Visit her Web site at www.catherinelinka.com. You can sign up for email updates here.

ALSO BY CATHERINE LINKA.

A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS.

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