Two women searching through a secret past discover that their brief hotel liaison is only the beginning.

Laurel Hoffman, an associate professor of women's studies in Berkeley, struggles to stay on track for tenure while caught up in the last throes of a crumbling relationship with a senior colleague. When she hears of a hotel being renovated and a secret room full of papers about women who once stayed there, she knows she has a potential career-saving article.

Stefanie Beresford, the hotel owner, is not exactly receptive when Laurel approaches her about researching the hotel's history, but that doesn't stop her from flirting with the alluring academic. She doesn't need the distraction, but for the first time in her life she wants to take a chance on more than a fleeting encounter.

While Laurel can't deny her powerful feelings for Stefanie, she fears she's risking her heart as well as her future if she acts on her desires. But can a simple encounter between two rational adults really be all that dangerous?...

In this exciting sequel to First Instinct, Conn Stryker and Leigh Grove have narrowly missed being killed by those whose investment scam they exposed. Still at risk, they flee to a hideaway on the Northern California coast until safety is assured. The pleasures of their new relationship and the promise of what life together could be are shadowed by the need for constant vigilance.

Their pledge to be together is shattered when Conn must try to rescue one of her mothers from a kidnapping in Pakistan. She is the only ransom the kidnappers will accept. When Leigh and Conn are separated, each must face enormous odds to survive and find each other again.

This fast-paced adventure takes our heroines on a dangerous journey from California to Paris and through the deadly streets of Karachi, Pakistan....