It is Christmas afternoon and Peter Martin gets an unexpected phone call from his parents, asking him to come round. It pulls him away from his wife and children and into a bewildering mystery.

He arrives at his parents house and discovers that they have a visitor. His sister Tara. Not so unusual you might think, this is Christmas after all, a time when families get together. But twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back and as the years have gone by with no word from her the family have, unspoken, assumed that she was dead. Now she's back, tired, dirty, disheveled, but happy and full of stories about twenty years spent traveling the world, an epic odyssey taken on a whim.

But her stories don't quite hang together and once she has cleaned herself up and got some sleep it becomes apparent that the intervening years have been very kind to Tara. She really does look no different from the young woman who walked out the door twenty years ago. Peter's parents are just delighted to have their little girl back, but Peter and his best friend Richie, Tara's one time boyfriend, are not so sure. Tara seems happy enough but there is something about her. A haunted, otherworldly quality. Some would say it's as if she's off with the fairies. And as the months go by Peter begins to suspect that the woods around their homes are not finished with Tara and his family...

The tavern was about half full and there was no reason for this one table to have ten chairs and only one occupant. Except that she was sitting there. At her table. I say her table because she seemed to be the captain of her own little island nation, exiled and alone in an otherwise busy tavern. She didn’t look up until she heard my chair scrape the floor when I moved it so that I could sit down. I think it startled her. I know it did. It wasn’t that she wasn’t observant and didn’t see me coming, it was that I was unusually hard to see. And so was she. She wasn’t waiting for a company of friends. She ate alone. She drank alone. She wore a simple brown frock like a clerical monk might wear. It went from her neck to her ankles. Her head was wrapped in cloth the same color as the frock. None of her hair showed and neither did much of her face. All I could see was her chin and lips, the top half of her face was covered by a loose gauze the same color as the rest of her outfit. The other part of her that I could see was her hands. Her gloves sat on the table next to her mug. She didn’t pay attention to the gloves–but I did.
She said, “Go away. I’m not whoever you think I am. And I’m not looking for conversation or company. Find another place to sit.” She didn’t have any weapons that I could see. I knew she had them, but they weren’t where I could see them.
In a very steady low voice, a voice as hard to hear as the two of us were to see, I said, “I’ll leave when I’m ready. When you are ready, you can come with me.”
She snapped her head up and stared at my face. I couldn’t see her eyes but her mouth was surprised, defiant, and puzzled all at the same time.
I said, “I know what you are.”
In a voice that matched mine in both timber and sincerity, she said, “You may not live to push your chair from the table, let alone stand and walk away. Unless you go now.”

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Molecular Driving Forces, Second Edition is an introductory statistical thermodynamics text that describes the principles and forces that drive chemical and biological processes. It demonstrates how the complex behaviors of molecules can result from a few simple physical processes, and how simple models provide surprisingly accurate insights into the workings of the molecular world.

Widely adopted in its First Edition, Molecular Driving Forces is regarded by teachers and students as an accessible textbook that illuminates underlying principles and concepts. The Second Edition includes two brand new chapters: (1) "Microscopic Dynamics" introduces single molecule experiments; and (2) "Molecular Machines" considers how nanoscale machines and engines work. "The Logic of Thermodynamics" has been expanded to its own chapter and now covers heat, work, processes, pathways, and cycles. New practical applications, examples, and end of chapter questions are integrated throughout the revised and updated text, exploring topics in biology, environmental and energy science, and nanotechnology. Written in a clear and reader friendly style, the book provides an excellent introduction to the subject for novices while remaining a valuable resource for experts.

This work explains how the definitive British rock performers of 1967-1977 aimed, not at the youthful rebellion for which they are legendary, but at a highly self-conscious project of commenting on the business in which they were engaged.

Open your heart and mind to the wisdom of the animal world.

Animal Speak provides techniques for recognizing and interpreting the signs and omens of nature. Meet and work with animals as totems and spirit guides by learning the language of their behaviors within the physical world.

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Identify, meet, and attune to your spirit animals
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Create and use five magical animal rites, including shapeshifting and sacred dance
This beloved, bestselling guide has become a classic reference for anyone wishing to forge a spiritual connection with the majesty and mystery of the animal world.