"Arcadia Hearne is a researcher who studies contemporary war and specializes in issues of military intervention." "While she pursues the study of violence, surveying the rich arsenal of current global conflicts, she refuses to put herself either physically or emotionally at risk.".

"Ten years before, Arcadia fled Toronto in the aftermath of a violent incident involving two university students, both her lovers. Now, beginning with the unexpected arrival of her sister, Lux, the "safe zone" that Arcadia has constructed for herself is increasingly invaded. Thrust into a world of people who, like her, hide secrcts and are in flight from difficult pasts, Arcadia is compelled both to contemplate new possibilities for intervention and to confront her own painful history."--BOOK JACKET.