Like most people Frank Bascombe of New Jersey, a divorced realtor, has plans for the Fourth of July weekend: find a new home for a client, see his semi-girlfriend and take his son to a sports hall of fame. Instead, one disappointment follows another, but he takes them in his stride--philosophically. By the author of The Sportswriter.

"Charlie Garner has a bad feeling. His ex-wife, Meg, has been missing for over a week and one quick peek into her home shows all her possessions packed up in boxes. Neighbors claim she's running from bill collectors, but Charlie suspects something more sinister is afoot. Meg was last seen working at the local donut shop, a business run by a shadow group most refer to as 'The Saucer People'; a space-age, evangelist cult...Along with his brother Felix...Charlie...

"Noah Hearst is leaving a life he's spent twelve years building. Professionally, a losing battle for his job after a hostile takeover. Personally, signing away his marriage in a split that was a long time coming. Now, the difficult part: deciding who he is, what he wants, and where to go next. Maybe it's time to realize a dream that's carried him through hard times: owning a boat. Traveling the ocean, exploring new ports, embracing the endless horizon....

"Dr. Toby Fleishman wakes up each morning surrounded by women. Women who are self-actualized and independent and know what they want -- and, against all odds, what they want is Toby. Who knew what kind of life awaited him once he finally extracted himself from his nightmare of a marriage? Who knew that there were women out there who would actually look at him with softness and desire? But just as the winds of his optimism are beginning to pick up,...

There are no wars to fight. But Gunnery Sgt. Tom Highway, a dog-faced relic of past wars, still has a lot of fight in him. He is a Marine Corps lifer who started his last tour of duty before retirement, and sees the bumpy road his life has taken become more complicated, due to feisty recruits, by-the-book officers, and a salty ex-wife to whom he's still attracted.

Struggling with a lackluster teaching position at an archeology field school in South Carolina, Tempe Brennan discovers a fresh skeleton among ancient bones and traces leads to a free street clinic where patients are going missing.