What happens when you live longer than you wanted to? Parvin Blackwater wanted to die, but now she's being called to be a leader. The only problem is, no one wants to follow. The Council uses Jude's Clock-matching invention to force "new-and-improved" Clocks on the public. Those who can't afford one are packed into boxcars like cattle and used for the Council's purposes. Parvin and Hawke find themselves on a cargo ship of Radicals headed out to sea. What will the Council do to them? And why are people suddenly dying before their Clocks have zeroed-out?

"Roses are red, violets are blue, I hate being touched but not by you."Drew Wescott doesn't count himself as anybody exceptional. He's just trying to do the right thing after quitting his job as a police officer because of guilt. But doing the right thing proves to be more difficult for Drew when it comes to his best friend's son-a broken soul that could not be touched by anyone. Ollie Mattis lives a painful life avoiding the touch from others, even those closest to him. After being the victim of a vicious hate crime which stripped him of his innocence and robbed him of his ability to trust, Ollie is drawn to the ex-cop in ways he's too terrified to explore. Until one night, lost in the darkness of his mind, Ollie allows Drew to soothe him. Drew is convinced nothing can exist between them. Ollie is positive Drew is the one man who can help him overcome his crippling fear of being touched. Will Drew agree to teach Ollie the pleasure of touch where he once knew pain or will his loyalty to Ollie's dad come between them and destroy the tentative trust they have worked to build?

Stepping Out of the Brain Drain is an important contribution to the intensifying debate about highly skilled migration from developing to developed countries. Addressing the issue from the perspective of Catholic social thought, the authors demonstrate that both the economic and ethical rationales for the teaching's opposition to 'brain drain' have been undermined in recent years and show how the adoption of a less critical policy could provide enhanced opportunities for poor countries to accelerate their economic development.