Amina al-Sirafi, a notorious Muslim pirate captain, has survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands and an actual demon before retiring to a life of piety. That is until she and her crew are forced into one last adventure — embarking on a mission across the Indian Ocean battling a supernatural world they never knew existed.
1941. The life of Ivan Gouchkov, a student of Physics and Mechanics at the Leningrad Industry Institute, dramatically changes one day just before his spring exams when he comes to the attention of Major Lobanov, Head of Intelligence at the Leningrad Military District Command. Several months later, Main Intelligence Directorate receives information that the USA is developing a powerful nuclear weapon. Soviet Intelligence recruits Ivan and sends him to "Object X", a uranium enrichment plant in Nevada. To avoid suspicion, Ivan's appearance is changed, and he is given a new identity. He is turned into Stanley Liber, a marine cadet who had gone missing but who somehow has miraculously survived. Furthermore Ivan is to marry Sheila, Liber's fiancee.
Different values and beliefs cause a rift between two best friends. Jack is an honest and faithful police officer, but is betrayed by his friend, who was tempted to cross to the dark side. Jack also finds himself in a forbidden love with May, who is the daughter of the corrupt Police Chief; the same man who forced Jack to make a run for his life.
On her way home from school one day, Noriko is unexpectedly plunged into a strange and extraordinary fantasy world. Her troubles compound exponentially when she is rescued and befriended by a handsome young man by the name of Izark. He may be brave and courageous, but inside Izark lurks the darkest evil imaginable. And according to an ancient prophecy, Noriko possesses the power to unleash that evil. Now, inexorably bound together, these two unlikely allies must navigate a world both wondrous and hostile.
When London-based media and publicity consultant Emma le Roux receives a desperate call from her brother—who had vanished decades earlier—she returns to South Africa and is drawn into a deadly conspiracy involving poaching, political corruption, and the mysterious death of Mozambican presidential candidate Armando Catano. Together with bodyguard Martin Dekker and police detective Colonel Jack Phatudi, Emma begins to unravel a web of power, violence, and mystery in the Lowveld—secrets that have remained buried for more than twenty years.