Santa Fe police officer Dan Page tracks down his missing wife only to witness a bloodbath in Rostov, a remote town in Texas famous for a massive astronomical observatory, a long-abandoned military base, and unexplained nighttime phenomena that draw onlookers from every corner of the globe. Determined to solve the mystery of the Rostov Lights in order to save his wife, he discovers that the decaying military base may not be abandoned at all, and that...

"One of the finest novels I've read . . . .a fiercely intelligent look at childhood, marriage, families, the 1960s, the Cold War and the fear and isolation that are part of the human condition…. it is not only beautifully written…. it is equally beautiful in its conception, its compassion, its wisdom, even in its anger and pain. Don't miss it."  - Patrick Anderson, Washington Post Book World The optimism of the early sixties, infused with the...

During the summer between her junior and senior year of high school, spoiled Chicagoan Amy Nelson-Barak volunteers for Israeli military boot camp when she learns that her boyfriend, a commando in the Israeli Defense Force, will be at the same military base.

In 1944, fifteen-year-old Noah Garrett, recently orphaned, is sent to live at Camp Hale, Colorado, with an uncle he has never met, and there he finds his pacifist views put to the test.

When the Bailey family moves into an army base in Virginia there are a lot of adjustments to make; twelve-year-old Tom runs afoul of the base school bully, ten-year-old Charlotte finds herself trying too hard to make friends with the "cool" girls, and six-year-old Rosie is just being difficult as usual--but they come together to investigate a mysterious building full of weird cages, and uncover Fort Patrick's secrets.