"A deep-cover CIA agent races across Europe to save the daughter he never knew... In the end, you cannot hide who you are. Klara Walldéen was raised by her grandparents on a remote archipelago in the Baltic Sea, learning to fish and hunt and sail a boat through a storm. Now, as an EU Parliament aide in Brussels, she is learning how to navigate the treacherous currents of international politics: the lines between friend and enemy, truth and lies....

"Ming survived the famine that killed his parents during China's "Great Leap Forward", and lives a hard but adequate life, working in the fields. When a group of city boys comes to the village as part of a Communist Party re-education program, Ming and his friends aren't sure what to make of the new arrivals...But despite his reservations, Ming befriends a charming city boy called Li. The two couldn't be more different, but slowly they form a bond...

Two novellas provide insight into the human condition as a sixty-year-old art history academic embarks on an unexpected journey of discovery and a young farm boy is drawn to the water of Lake Michigan as an escape.

In “The 100 Greatest Swimmers in History”, John Lohn profiles some of the biggest names the sport has ever seen, from Mark Spitz and Tracy Caulkins to Katie Ledecky and Michael Phelps. Each swimmer is ranked based on achievements such as Olympic medals, world and European championships, and world records. Lohn provides insight into how these swimmers became the best in their sport by detailing their accomplishments, finest performances, records,...

"After the ravages of the Green Winter, Earth is a place of deep jungles and monstrous animals. The last of the human race is divided into surface dwellers and the people who live in the Upper Settlement, a ring perched at the edge of the Earth's atmosphere.Bearing witness to this divided planet is Pearl, a young techie with a thread of shuvani blood, who lives in the isolated forests of Gobari, navigating her mad mother and the strange blue light...

From the moment Kappa tumbles into existence on the ocean floor, his life's purpose is already decided for him: He is the Beacon, a light to all sea creatures, and destined to fulfill their many prophesies. In high demand and under immense pressure, Kappa quickly realizes that fame and glory are small compensation for a life of predetermined self-sacrifice. Unable to resist the call of destiny due to a magical yellow cord that appears from his chest...

A competitive swimmer in Syria, Yusra Mardini never let go of her Olympic dream, even when civil war made it too difficult to train in her country. In 2016, she was allowed to compete in the Rio Olympics as part of a special team for refugees. This was only months after making a daring crossing of the Mediterranean Sea in a sinking boat that she helped tow to shore. Dozens of lives were saved on the voyage. Still training, Mardini also acts as a spokesperson...

When a dead man is lifted from the freezing waters of Oslo Harbour just before Christmas, Detective Lena Stigersand's stressful life suddenly becomes even more complicated. Not only is she dealing with a cancer scare, a stalker and an untrustworthy boyfriend, but it seems both a politician and Norway's security services might be involved in the murder. With her trusted colleagues, Gunnarstranda and Frølich, at her side, Lena digs deep into the case...

"[A] writer who is gifted not just with extraordinary talent but also with a subtle, original, and probing mind."--Amitav Ghosh In one of the singularly imaginative stories from Kanishk Tharoor's Swimmer Among the Stars, despondent diplomats entertain themselves by playing table tennis in zero gravity--for after rising seas destroy Manhattan, the United Nations moves to an orbiting space hotel. In other tales, a team of anthropologists treks to a...

Wealthy suburbanite Ned Merrill loses everything and, by blocking out the last two or so years of years of his life, he deceives himself that he hasn't lost anything. His deception is revealed as he confronts former friends while swimming from one pool to another on his way to his old home. Some genuinely try to help him. As he proceeds, though, he runs into people who he mistreated in the past, and now speaks hostilely to him. He finally arrives...