The plot of The Sacred Art of Stealing tells the story of American Zal Innez, a witty and intellectual art-loving thief, who is being blackmailed by crime boss Alessandro Estabol to do one last major job for him. As a warm up to their main heist, Zal and his team of fellow failed artists rob a Glasgow bank of approaching a million pounds. During the raid they use unorthodox methods such as firing itching powder at armed police, carrying fake guns, staging plays and drawing works of art for their hostages to keep casualties to a minimum. During this robbery Zal meets and falls for a woman police officer, Angelique de Xavia, heroine of Brookmyre''s previous novel, who is under-appreciated by her bosses. Both police officer and thief become painfully aware of the strong attraction between them and a relationship is formed, despite the fact that they are both fully aware that they are on opposite sides. Zal knows Angelique is after him, and even counts on this knowledge to complete his final job, while Angelique is aware that Zal is playing her, even though she does not want to contemplate what that might imply about his real feelings for her.

The Sacred Art of Stealing

The novel''s first chapter begins in London, with Karl Glogauer travelling through Kensington on his way to the Derry and Tom''s Roof Gardens. There, on a bench in the Spanish Gardens, he fantasises about the past, trying to put "his mother, his childhood as it actually was, [and] the failure of his ambitions" out of his head with ideals of Regency-era London politics, gambling, women and duelling. His imaginations are interrupted by a "deep, slightly hesitant, husky" voice, a greeting of "Good afternoon", a dark-skinned man who spends the entirety of the novel unnamed. He first asks if he may join Glogauer on the bench, and then goes on to explain that he''s merely visiting London, and that he hadn''t expected to find such a place in the middle of the city. Glogauer wrongly assumes him to be a rich American tourist, annoyed to have been disturbed from his reverie. The man then asks Glogauer if he may photograph him; Glogauer, now flattered, assents. While he''s being photographed, the man explains that he''s from Nigeria, attempting to convince the government of England to buy copper at a higher price. Glogauer says that he''s an illustrator. The man then invites Glogauer to have tea with him, and Glogauer, feeling guilty, and, despite recalling his mother''s words to not have anything to do with people who make you feel guilty, agrees. After journeying through the Tudor and Woodland gardens, they dine at the restaurant. During the meal, Glogauer attempts to introduce himself. The man, however, does not respond, merely offering Glogauer the sugar bowl. He then asks Glogauer to "come back with me", to which Glogauer says "Yes". The second chapter, introducing a format that is followed by most subsequent chapters, excluding the last, begins, in italics, with a short scene in the man''s hotel suite. Glogauer has taken his clothes off, and lies naked on the bed. The man touches first his head, and then his shoulders. Glogauer closes his eyes, blocking reality out, and begins a fantasy, similar to that which was interrupted by the man in the first chapter. The ending of the chapter is also another scene, in italics, that is set in the present.

Breakfast in the Ruins

Leslie and Peter are childhood friends who become lovers the summer before their senior year in high school. Their romance is immediately complicated by Leslie’s discovery—by reading her mother’s diary—that her mother, Aline, and his father, Nelson, are having an affair. Before the summer is over their parents have announced their impending divorces and Leslie and Peter’s lives are thrown in disarray. The pair spends the next few months of their lives dealing with senior year in high school, the divorces of the parents, and the quick marriage that legally makes them stepsiblings. In addition, Peter is striving for early acceptance at Harvard while Leslie spends much of her time in rehearsal for her high school play for she plans on going to college for acting and drama. Peter at the start of the school year continues to live with his mother; Nelson moves into a new apartment with his new wife and stepdaughter. Leslie is upset at the new living arrangements because she is close to her father and is angry with Aline for the divorce and quick remarriage. In her struggle to deal with the divorce Peter’s mother decides to sell the family home and move to Chicago to finish her college degree. This forces Peter to move in with his father, stepmother and stepsister/girlfriend. The awkwardness of the situation causes the two to argue and abruptly end their physical relationship, having kept it a secret from their parents. As they move on with their lives, Peter and Leslie reconcile and renew their intimacy as the new marriage begins to fall apart primarily because of Nelson’s womanizing, although Aline’s emotional neediness is also a contributing factor. The novel ends with the couple planning a cross country car trip during the summer before they go off to separate colleges. No longer related, they are more comfortable to resume their relationship without the complications imposed by their parents'' actions.

Family Secrets

Hugh and Alanna Roeswood conceive a baby girl named Marina and invite all the godparents and villagers to her christening. The godparents go up to lay a blessing on the sleeping baby. Before the godparents had given their blessing, Hugh''s sister Arachne, who wasn''t supposed to have any magical abilities at all, laid a curse upon the infant. She was cursed to die at the age of 18. The sister then left leaving behind the curse and also Marina''s terrified parents and godparents. One of the godparents, Elizabeth Hastings, attempts to remove of the curse, but can only change the nature of the curse instead. Hugh and Alanna know that there is only one option and they give Marina to Margherita and Sebastion Tarrant and Margherita''s brother, Thomas Buford. They keep Marina successfully hidden away until about 6 months before her fateful 18th birthday, when her aunt kills her parents, finds Marina, and kidnaps her away from the only family she has ever known. Marina is forced to endure all kinds of lessons, including etiquette, dancing and proper conversation. She also has to endure the company of her cousin, Reginald or the "Odious Reggie" as she calls him. Meanwhile, a doctor by the name of Andrew Pike has moved into the estate next door to take care of his mentally unstable patients. Marina meets him when she attempts to help one of his patients, a girl who got lead poisoning from working at a pottery. In the process, Marina finds out that it is her aunt who poisoned, not only the little girl, but many others at her potteries. Arachne is trying to figure out how to re-instate the curse. Marina figures out exactly what Arachne is, but too late! Arachne re-instates the curse and calls upon Dr. Pike to help her with Marina. It eventually ends with two epic battles between Arachne and Marina and Reginald and Dr. Pike.

The Gates of Sleep

When the book begins, Tengo and Frikkie are two young boys on Oom Koos''s farm. Frikkie visits on holidays to escape the grinding boredom of the school term, and Tengo lives there with his family. Over time, Tengo comes to see more and more that their friendship is hesitant and tenuous due to the imposing laws of Apartheid, and wants to know more. He cannot understand why Frikkie does not like school when there is so much to learn. He desperately wishes to go to the city and get an education. To quench his thirst for knowledge, Selina asks for books from Mrs. Miller. Tengo receives them and loves them, but they only make him want to know more. Over the course of this book, Tengo is also learning more about Apartheid and how it functions. His cousin Joseph, who lives in the squalid township of Johannesburg, visits one day and tells Tengo of the evils that must be faced every day there. Tengo''s eyes are opened after this conversation, and through several more events, he is determined to go to Johannesburg to get an education. He gets permission and leaves for the city. He finds that the city is smelly and noisy like Frikkie said it would be. In Part Two, Tengo becomes a much more active member in the fight against the white regime. About four years later than Part One, Part Two details more closely on Tengo''s life in Johannesburg, and only briefly visits Frikkie as he is serving his mandatory term in the army. Tengo is receiving tutoring from Rev. Gilbert, and living with the Millers for a time. Soon, however, more and more protests break out in response to stricter rules set by the white government, and Tengo''s school is shut down. He now has a choice to make: should he choose education and try to matriculate to college, or join the demonstrations against Apartheid? He wants to continue his education, but does not see how this is possible - at least, not until Joseph returns and offers him a chance to go overseas and be schooled. As Tengo tries to make the decision, the army is sent out to stop the erupting riots, and Frikkie arrives in Johannesburg as an enemy to Tengo and his fellow blacks. *Oubaas means "old master"; Frikkie''s uncle. *Kleinbaas - "young master"; Frikkie is referred to as this by the black people who work on Oom Koos'' farm. *Kaffir - a derogatory term directed at native South Africans. Similar to Nigger as used in the USA. Literally translated from Arabic, Kuffar means "non-believer". *Piccanin - a slightly derogatory term meaning one who is young and/or foolish. *Kraal - Small villages of mud huts for the blacks to live in.

Waiting for The Rain

The story outlines contact between Earth and the title Visitors, a group of mysterious objects from deep space. The Visitors are simple black oblong boxes, as large as buildings, which approach from space and orbit the Earth before descending to the United States. The nature of the visitors is kept rather mysterious&nbsp;— it''s not clear if they are vehicles or living things in their own right. They are apparently unable to communicate with humans in any meaningful way; on one occasion a human is taken inside a Visitor, only to be released after experiencing a jumble of confusing colored lights and smells which he didn''t understand. The Visitors are composed largely of a dense form of cellulose, and they proceed to consume a quantity of trees and plant life in the US. Eventually they start producing vehicles, superficially resembling human cars but capable of flying using the same unknown principles as the Visitors themselves, and apparently incorporating some element of intelligence, or at least instinct, since they do not crash into things as they move. The humans assume that the Visitors have created these vehicles as a gift in return for the plant matter which the Visitors are consuming, and the novel touches on the disruption such well-meaning gifts might incur on the Earth''s economic systems. Toward the end of the book the Visitors also start producing housing units for humans, and it is even implied that something living may be inside them&nbsp;— perhaps even a Visitor-produced version of humans themselves.

The Visitors

Declan Ross, accepting the British offer of pardons to pirates who would turn from their illegal trade, is now attempting to convince other pirates to do the same. Meanwhile, rumors have arisen that Bartholomew Thorne, formerly thought to have been killed in a flood, is alive and plotting. Cat, who has been staying with a group of monks for a time, has been offered the task of commanding a ship full of fighting monks on a mission to hunt down the elusive Merchant. He accepts, and with Ross''s permission, takes Anne on as quartermaster. While Ross combs the sea for news of Thorne, Cat and Anne discover the Merchant''s underwater lair. Eventually they are separated from their comrades and, in the ensuing battle with the Merchant himself, Anne escapes the lair while Cat is captured. Anne is picked up by the Robert Bruce and Cat, trapped in a cell on the Merchant''s ship, is faced with a choice: become the evil man''s apprentice or die. The Merchant arranges a meeting with Thorne himself and offers to return Cat to his father for a price. Bartholomew, however, hatefully refuses. Meanwhile, Lady Dolphin, Commodore Blake, and their young friend Hopper sail to an island where Thorne was reportedly last seen. There the two adults are captured by the Raukar, Viking descendants who are under Thorne''s leadership. Hopper is able to rescue Blake but Lady Dolphin remains prisoner. While in Bartholomew''s captivity, he and she discover that Dolphin is Thorne''s daughter, the child of Heather, the wife he lost in a fire. This news confounds the terrible pirate, who, while not fond of Dolphin, now can not seem stay away from her. With a Viking army Thorne sails to London and bombs it with a destructive and mysterious weapon of the Raukar: fire rain. With vengeful satisfaction Bartholomew wipes out and cripples the British Navy and watches the British city in burning confusion. He then sails off to personally destroy the monastery Cat formerly stayed at. Ross and Anne sail to defend the monastery as soon as they learn of Thorne''s terrible work. There before the monks'' home they confront Bartholomew in a sea battle, which further intensifies with the arrival of the Merchant''s ship and a hurricane. In the ensuing fight, Cat boldly escapes the Merchant''s ship, that same vessel is sunk soon sunk, Hopper and some of Ross''s crewmen rescue Dolphin, and several Raukar ships are destroyed in the hurricane. In a final confrontation on the Ross''s ship, Declan, Cat and Stede together kill Thorne. The battered Robert Bruce and its crew ride out the rest of the hurricane in its eye, and then return in triumph to the monastery. As the story ends, London is struggling to recover and rebuild itself and Cat comes to Declan with A question.

Isle of Fire

;Otto''s "rather shabby" studio in Paris, 1932 Gilda is an interior designer who lives with the painter Otto, who was previously attached to Leo, an author. She is visited by Ernest Friedman, an art dealer and friend of all three. He is excited about his newly acquired Matisse and wants to show it to Otto. Gilda says that Otto is in bed, ill, and cannot be disturbed. Ernest tells her that Leo is back in Paris after making a success in New York. Otto enters from the street, carrying luggage, and very clearly not bedridden as Gilda has told Ernest. Ernest prudently takes his leave. After he and Otto have gone out to find Leo, supposedly at the George V Hotel, Leo enters from Gilda''s bedroom where he has spent the night with her. They discuss what they should say to Otto, whom they both love. On his return they tell him that they have slept together in his absence, and after a furious row he renounces both of them and slams out of the room. ;Leo''s flat in London eighteen months later ;Scene 1 Leo and Gilda are now living together. His plays are now immensely successful. A journalist and press photographer call to do a feature on him. During the interview Leo makes several remarks that show how shallow he finds success. ;Scene 2 A few days later, Leo is away, and Otto turns up. He too has now become successful. Otto and Gilda dine together and their old love is rekindled. They embrace passionately. Scene 3 The next morning, Otto is still asleep when Ernest calls on Gilda. She tells him she is leaving Leo, and they exit together. Leo returns to discover Otto, who at once acknowledges that he has spent the night with Gilda. Before the ensuing row develops too far they spot the notes Gilda has left for them both. They are both horrified that she has gone, and they drown their sorrows in brandy and then sherry. They embrace, sobbing helplessly. ;Ernest''s penthouse in New York, two years later. ;Scene 1 Gilda has married Ernest and become a commercially successful designer. Ernest is away, and Gilda is giving a reception for some important clients. It is gatecrashed by Otto and Leo, in impeccable evening dress, determined to reclaim her. They frighten her guests into leaving, and Gilda pretends to bid them goodnight along with her other guests, but secretly gives them a key and tells them to return later. ;Scene 2 Ernest returns the next morning to find Otto and Leo in his apartment, wearing his pyjamas. Gilda, however, has not been there. She has been to a hotel overnight to allow herself time to think. When she returns Otto and Leo explain to an incredulous and incandescent Ernest that Gilda''s formal status as his wife is irrelevant. She slowly realises that the attraction the two exert for her is irresistible. As Ernest rushes out denouncing their "disgusting three-sided erotic hotch-potch," Gilda, Otto and Leo fall together on a sofa in gales of laughter.

Design for Living

Fleeing from the Reign of Terror in 1793, Manfred von Bek (the Ritter von Bek), once a valued revolutionary, leaves Paris and heads towards Switzerland, with the final destination of the Waldenstein city of Mirenberg in mind. Close to Vaud, von Bek, who is masquerading as a messenger carrying secret documents, meets Robert de Montsorbier. Following polite conversation, Montsorbier accuses von Bek of being a traitor, and von Bek flees towards the border. Shortly after crossing the border, although not knowing it at the time, von Bek meets a group of young revolutionaries on their way to Paris. As Montsorbier is not carrying any flags or standards, the revolutionaries believe him to be part of the Swiss Guard, and open fire. They wound Montsorbier and several of his men. Von Bek thanks them and, after explaining, to their dismay, that the men they opened fire on were enforcers of the Committee of Public Safety, he leaves them, also taking Montsorbier''s horse. After spending the night at an inn&mdash;Le Coq D''Or&mdash;von Bek awakens to discover that Montsorbier, posing as a member of the Swiss Guard, is searching for him at the inn. Unable to locate the hiding Von Bek, Montsorbier accuses him of being a horse thief, and attempts to gain information on his heading. It is then that von Bek meets Libussa, the Duchess of Crete, who owns the carriage that he''d seen the previous night. She assists him in escaping from Montsorbier, and von Bek becomes smitten with her. Leaving, and intending to follow Libussa to Lausanne, von Bek meets Orkie Lochorkie, whose given name is Colin James Charles, better known as the Chevalier de St Odhran, an aeronaut, balloonist and confidence trickster. The two meet at the Hackmesser Pass, as von Bek has unknowingly caused a landslide while shooting a hare for his supper. St Odhran expresses his intent of heading to Mirenberg to do ''business''; von Bek, however, does not inform him that he also intends to travel to Mirenberg, but readily agrees to meet with St Odhran if their paths cross again. On arrival in Lausanne, von Bek discovers that the Libussa has already left, and a friend informs him that there is, in fact, no Duchess of Crete. There is, however, an unmarried Duke of Crete, who has been living in Prague for the last five years, though he dresses up as a woman as a flight of fancy. Von Bek resolves to travel to Prague, where a convention of alchemists has been called, and search for Libussa there. Not finding Libussa in Prague, von Bek journeys onwards to Mirenberg, where he once again meets St Odhran, and becomes involved in a confidence trick regarding the sale of shares in a new airship that he and von Bek will build. After several misadventures, the pair decide that they must flee Mirenburg, as the amount of money they have swindled is simply too much, and one of their major backers has turned up murdered. On the night of the escape, two mysterious figures board the airship. As the ship departs, it becomes evident that one of the passengers is indeed Libussa, Duchess of Crete. The other, is the villain Klosterheim, the same man who attempted to kill Ulrich von Bek more than 100 years previously. After traveling through the shadow land of Mittelmarch, this unlikely alliance arrives in the City in the Autumn Stars. Soon after meeting with Satan, he becomes involved in a quest to find the Holy Grail.

The City in the Autumn Stars

The story takes place in 1827 on an isolated farm at the fictional locality of Curlow Creek in the mountains of the colony of New South Wales. The two main characters are Michael Adair, an Irish-born officer in the colonial mounted troopers, and Daniel Carney, an Irish escapee and bushranger. Adair had been dispatched from Sydney to oversee Carney''s hanging and he arrives at Carney''s temporary prison -- a stockman''s hut -- on the night before he is due to be executed. The narrative details conversations held by Adair and Carney throughout the cold night as they explore their shared Irish heritage. The novel is also peppered with Adair''s reminiscences of his aristocratic childhood in County Galway. As the plot progresses, Adair develops sympathy for Carney despite his criminal past and impoverished background. The novel ends with Adair presumed to have let Carney escape into the bush -- though as with many of David Malouf''s novels, the ending is ambiguous and the reader does not know for sure the fate of the hero.

The Conversations At Curlow Creek

The novel is set during a fictional crisis of the Cold War. The characters are presented as attempting to lead Canada as it faces the imminent threat of thermonuclear war. James McCallum Howden is portrayed as Canada''s Prime Minister, the leader of an unnamed party. The Howden government possesses a rocky, unstable majority in Canada''s Parliament. Howden''s political struggles are shown in counterpoint with the mingled strength and troubled feelings that he gets from his marriage. He and his wife Margaret are depicted as having a pleasant, passionless relationship, with the politician troubled by guilt over the memories of a past extramarital affair with his assistant, Milly. Despite this misstep, Howden is portrayed as a sympathetic character. Three high-ranking aides and political allies of Howden are also followed through their work, Arthur Lexington, Stuart Cawston, and Brian Richardson. Lexington and Cawston fight to protect their chief and his political position as Canada moves closer to what the novel depicts as the greatest crisis in its national history. During the course of the novel, it becomes increasingly clear that Howden''s premiership is gravely threatened by the consequences of an amoral political pact that Howden was forced to make with an erstwhile ally in order to gain the party leadership. The deteriorating relationship between Howden and this former ally forms one of the key plot movements of the novel.

In High Places

Jack Reacher gets off a Greyhound bus in the fictional town of Margrave, Georgia, because he remembers his brother mentioning that a musician named "Blind Blake" died there. Much to his surprise, he''s arrested in a local diner for murder. He meets an honest detective called Finlay, and tries to prove he was not there when the murder happened. After finding what seems to be a phone number in the dead man''s shoe, Finlay rings and tricks a man into telling him his name, Mr. Hubble, They bring Hubble (as he likes to be called) into the police station for questioning and he soon cracks and confesses to the murder, but Reacher doesn''t buy it. Both Reacher and Hubble are sent to the state prison and run into more than a little trouble. After a hellraising two days in jail, Roscoe (a female police officer for whom Reacher has begun to have feelings) proves he is innocent and that his claim to have been nowhere near the scene of the murder is true. Roscoe collects Reacher and they return to Margrave to find that all hell has broken loose. Reacher discovers the murder victim''s identity and realises that he indeed knows him, as he has all his life. Hubble has disappeared and his wife is in hysterics wanting Reacher to find him. It then transpires that Chief Morrison and his wife have been found horribly murdered in their own home. It is revealed later in the story that Margrave is home to a multi-billion dollar counterfeiting operation, which Reacher and his newly formed acquaintances try to destroy.

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The Sacred Art of Stealing

By Christopher Brookmyre

Breakfast in the Ruins

By Michael Moorcock

Family Secrets

By Norma Klein

The Gates of Sleep

By Mercedes Lackey

Waiting for The Rain

By Sheila Gordon

The Visitors

No Author Listed

Isle of Fire

No Author Listed

Design for Living

By Noël Coward

The City in the Autumn Stars

By Michael Moorcock

The Conversations At Curlow Creek

By David Malouf

In High Places

By Arthur Hailey

Killing Floor

By Lee Child