Margo Sinclair has lived for centuries, cursed with immortality after an ancient ritual went wrong. Once a revered Elydian Queen, now she is a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows of high society-wealthy, powerful, and untouchable. With a heart hardened by centuries of loss, Margo has one rule: never get close to anyone. Mortals are fleeting, destined to die, leaving her alone every time. To distract herself from the loneliness that gnaws at her soul, Margo has taken up a dark hobby-hunting and eliminating criminals and society's lowest scum, dispensing her brand of justice in the shadows. It's the only thing that gives distraction, allowing her to channel her centuries of anger and frustration. But when Margo meets Aveline, a resilient and unapologetic sex worker shunned by society, her carefully constructed walls begin to crack. Aveline is everything Margo isn't-fearless in her vulnerability, living life with a boldness Margo has long forgotten. Drawn to her in ways she can't explain, Margo faces a dilemma: stay distant and continue her endless, empty existence, or risk the agony of loss for a love that could finally make her feel alive again. As Margo grapples with her growing connection to Aveline, she must confront the demons of her past and the question that haunts her immortality: Is love worth the pain of inevitable loss? And can someone who has only known solitude truly open her heart when eternity is the price?

While Denis Summers-Smith's monograph The Sparrows presented his knowledge of sparrow biology, this volume tells the other, human, side of the tale. Denis Summers-Smith first took up the study of the House Sparrow in 1947, thinking that the difficulties of travel in post-war Britain would best suit the study of a species always close at hand. The humble House Sparrow, common everywhere, was surprisingly poorly researched and his work soon provided interesting insights into this successful and adaptable little bird. As new opportunities to travel opened up, his interest blossomed to take in the genus Passer as a whole. His travels would ultimately lead to his study of all but one of the group, found only in deepest Turkestan, and to the publication of his authoritative monograph on sparrows in 1988. His wry descriptions of the tribulations and unexpected pleasures of a traveller on four continents, from the Himalayas and Thailand to Africa and the Americas (with a good few islands in between), are interspersed with observations and speculations on the biology of sparrows in a wide variety of habitats. Everywhere local officials and bird watchers warmed to the eccentric Scot in pursuit of the little birds that nobody notices but which so often make their homes beside us. The author's own photographs and delightful cartoons by Euan Dunn further paint the picture of this lifelong search.

"List of the names of persons engaged in the various activities": v. 10, p. 243-257.