An unspeakable evil visited Maria Vargas that warm summer evening, and her life was forever changed ... Haunted by her rape and seeming rejection by God, Maria seeks a backdoor to forgiveness by rescuing an innocent from the clutches of fate. Kat Reed's brush with fate was a bit more subtle. Following a disturbing sexual encounter, Maria's skeptical sister-of-the-heart is pregnant and in mortal danger from Tio Sanchez, the malevolent Latino womanizer bent on hiding a career-ending perversion. Torn between Maria's restored belief in life and Tio's relentless pressure to abort, Kat struggles to preserve her right to choose ... Will these two courageous women prevail in this epic battle between good and evil- or will desperation take its final toll? Dean Thompson is a former commissioned warrant officer, engineer, activism novelist and award-winning poet. A graduate of the University of South Florida, he currently resides in Benbrook, Texas, with his accomplished wife, Sheryl, and their bone-headed schnauzer, Molly. Between them, Dean and Sheryl have 5 children and 11 grandchildren, including 3 sets of twins.