April is an exceptional young lady and something of a snoop. She finds herself involved with intrigues that stretch her abilities after a chance run in with a spy. There is a terrible danger she and her friends and family will lose the only home she has ever known in orbit and be forced to live on the slum ball below. It's more than a almost teen can deal with. Fortunately she has a lot of smart friends and allies. It's a good thing because things get very rough and dicey.

The nation of Home and their ally Central seems to have bought some safety by moving Mitsubishi 3 from Low Earth Orbit to a halo orbit around L2 beyond the moon. It has added expenses, but it has unexpected advantages too, when Earth has its own problems. A little extra distance works just fine. Like April and her close friends Heather and Jeff, Home is growing, developing its own character, and becoming more independent.

The nation of Home seems to be safe beyond the moon, but life is hardly certain. Earth still is a huge influence and far too big for Home to affect to any degree. The Earthies have their own problems and Home can't be of much help. Sometimes when your neighbors are crazy and bent on ruin all you can do is watch in horror and protect yourself. Life goes on and things do get easier as adjustments are made. Of course when things return to normal not all those adjustments will just go away. April and her partners Jeff and Heather support Home, but not with a blank check. A lot of Earthies want to join them, but growth in business and actual places to put them can only happen so fast. Even in interesting times life goes on. People still get married, go to work, and want to have a good time. It is suggested if you haven't read the earlier April series books the characters and events in the seventh book of the series will be much richer and meaningful if you read the others as a base first. **

Despite winning a war against one of the world's super powers, and undertaking a mission to Earth to try to demonstrate their independence, April and her new nation still find their freedom tenuous. There are shortages and hostility, and machinations against them behind the scenes. Their small technological lead on the Earthies is about the only advantage they have besides courage and sheer nerve. But they are attracting the right sort of people, and if pressed, they still are capable of bold action. Home is growing physically and maturing. So is April.

Four close friends and widows do things together. They visit the Waffle House, go on cruises, and hit the garage sales as a team. When the people ahead of them drop a time machine in the driveway leaving a sale they are scrupulously honest. They try to get it back to them, but it isn't so easy.

April's nation Home has removed itself from orbiting close to Earth, but problems continue. Their enemies try to use the United Nations to act against them, as if that isn't a transparent subterfuge. The new Lunar nation of Central acts to help them, but at considerable cost. Meanwhile Home is expanding their reach into the solar system and gaining new citizens who appreciate opportunity and freedom. The things Home citizens decide to do, both new and old are interesting. The trouble from Earth is contained, but the whole matter is far from over.

April seems to make a habit of rescues. Now two lieutenants from the recent war appeal to her for help to reach Home. The secret they hold makes their escape doubtful. North America, the United States of North America, has been cheating on their treaty obligations and a public figure like April taking a very visible vacation there would be a good way to remind them of their obligations. Wouldn't it? Her family and business associates all think it is a great idea. She can serve a public purpose and do her rescue on the sly too. But things get difficult enough, just getting back Home alive is going to be a challenge. It's a good thing she has some help. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

Home is a nice place to live. If only so many people didn't think so. The influx has driven housing prices past anything reasonable. The Homies and their lunar allies have made sure they won't starve if Earth cuts them off, but they want to do much more than just survive. April and her friends are prospering, and working to make everyone else succeeds too. But Earth is still in turmoil. China and the USNA are holding back a global recovery after The Great Flu, because of their internal power struggles. Our heroes aren't going to wait for them to get their houses in order. There are other Earth nations that can be trading partners. Somebody is still targeting them, but April, Jeff and Heather will meet the challenge. As the eighth book in this series, it is impossible to fully cite the back-story. I don't suggest this as a stand-alone book. To understand the characters and rich details start with "April". The story will continue...