Book excerpt: An SF tale of global warfare and the people who profit from it. Hairston's extraordinary debut novel, first published by a small press in 2006. Nominated for the Philip K. Dick Award and short-listed for the Otherwise Award The world has been divided by the Barrier. For 115 years this extraterrestrial, epidimensional entity has divided the earth into warring zones. Power-hungry politicians, gangsters, and spiritual fundamentalists are determined to thwart a potential treaty to end the internal wars. When the treaty's architect is assassinated, her protegee, Elleni, a talented renegade and one of the few able to negotiate the Barrier, is forced to take up her mantle. Now Elleni and a motley crew of allies risk their lives to make the treaty work. Can they repair their fractured world before the Barrier devours them completely? At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.