For years French doctor Jean-Pierre Debout has led a secret life as a Communist, patiently waiting for a chance to serve the cause. Now, at last, that chance has come. His Russian masters have sent him on a spying mission deep into war-torn Afghanistan, to Banda, a remote village in the Five Lions Valley. Everything seems perfect until events in the tiny village take a very unexpected turn. Ellis Thaler, an old rival of Jean-Pierre's, turns up on an important mission of his own, and the two men find themselves pitted against one another as never before. Both of them are in love with the same woman; both of them have crucial, but conflicting, tasks to carry out-and only one of them can succeed. Intrigue, romance, and heart-stopping suspense in the best Ken Follett tradition. Maui. The lush Hawaiian island that Caroline Kirby had called home. until her parents' tragic death. After twenty-six years, Caroline has returned to learn the truth about their devastating accident. With the help of David Reed, her childhood friend, she follows a trail of long buried memories to the menacing volcanic crater where it all happened. What secret lies hidden in that desolate place of swirling sands and silversword plants? Was it really an accident that fatal day? Or a shocking murder? A haunting story of romantic suspense in the finest Phyllis Whitney tradition.