Gail R. Delaney Knihy

It's been a year since Humanity rose up against their alien oppressors and took back Earth from the Sorracchi. The war left Earth devastated, crippled, but not beaten. Under the leadership of President Nick Tanner and in collaboration with their new Areth and Umani allies, the Earth seeks stable ground again.John Smith of the Areth was a soldier before his queen asked him to serve as ambassador to Earth, and is out of his element. Restricted in his position from carrying a weapon, he has no way of defending himself or his adopted son when the Xenos -- a group of Humans wishing to purge the Earth of all alien influence -- decide they want him dead.Jenifer is a soldier for hire, and answers to no one but her own common sense. She first refused the "job" of serving as John's bodyguard, but a glimpse at the heart of the man convinces her to accept the responsibility.John has two faces: a soldier and an ambassador of peace. Jenifer has two faces: the steel-skinned warrior and the forgotten person she once was. Too many people hide behind masks, and it's those hiding who want John dead.

Lieutenant Commander Connor Montgomery's trust in his own judgment is gone, wiped out with the betrayal by the one person he trusted above all others. His failure to see the wolf in their midst has cost the people he loves more than they can afford to lose. His niece Nicole has been taken by the Xenos, by order of the most heinous and evil leaders of the Sorracchi race, and Connor will do whatever it takes to find her and bring her home safe.In the hours and days following the war, the Sorracchi hid and fled however they could, including snatching people out of their lives to create new husks and hide behind unknown faces. Evelyn woke in a world she didn't recognize, and no memory of the last year beyond her name. They call her an "Emancipated", a human freed from the possession of a Sorracchi conscience, but the people in charge of her care will tell her little else.When the memories come, they are dark and sickening, and she can only pray they are not her own. To save the life of a stolen child, Evelyn must face the crimes her hands committed and gain the trust of a man with no trust left. Not even for himself.