"She missed the ocean with its dual nature of calm and chaos. It called to her in voices of both lover and adversary. Always, she felt that if she could sit beside it still enough, long enough, she might solve mysteries. About life. About herself." The Brevity of Roses explores the interwoven lives of three damaged people who are each offered a chance to heal—if they can banish the ghosts of their pasts. Meredith Dahlberg-Lang hides behind a façade. In public, she's a wealthy socialite. In private, she's a lonely woman with a heart imprisoned by guilt after her husband's death. But she can't deny the longing she feels when a younger man seeks her attention. Jalal Vaziri, after years of trying in vain to win his father's approval, defies him by pursuing a new career. When he meets the woman of his dreams, his satisfaction is complete, but fate challenges his plan for a blissful future. Renee Marshall, matured beyond her years by a hard life, heads for a fresh start in Los Angeles. But when car trouble detours her to a village on the central coast, she enters the life of a man whose fierce denial of the need to be loved matches her own. An Illusion of Trust is the story of Renee Marshall, a young woman who discovers that having her dreams come true can't erase her nightmare past. When Renee married Jalal Vaziri, she got all the love and security she craved. But now, with a baby on the way, she has to leave her perfect seaside cottage to move into the mansion Jalal shared with his beloved first wife—a woman Renee fears she'll never completely replace. Unsettled by changes the relocation makes to her idyllic life, she allows her dark memories to resurface and feed her insecurity. Under the threat of losing all she treasures, Renee must confront her past and learn to trust love in this poignant exploration of marriage and motherhood.