Madeline is 13 years old, as are her two friends, and nothing looks the same to her. Her sister is leaving to study medicine, and there's Freddy who's looking at her as no one has before. But she still doesn't want to become an adolescent. A tragic accident and the help of an eccentric aunt who just arrived in her life will help her to pass the barrier.
In a backwoods cabin, a boy called Little Man lives with his dad (a trapper), his older sister Missy, and his younger sister Kid, who is feral, spends most of her time under the table, and can imitate the sound of any animal.
When Russian neo-nationalists hijack Air Force One, the world's most secure and extraordinary aircraft, the President is faced with a nearly impossible decision to give in to terrorist demands or sacrifice not only the country's dignity, but the lives of his wife and daughter.
A technical problem aboard a transatlantic flight forces a plane to land in Porto Santo, the small island of Madeira's archipelago where, according to a legend, Christopher Columbus the 15th century navigator, lived for a while and entertained a sexual relationship with a widow and her nubile daughter.
A story about Boyong, the master barber, and Apolinario, Boyong's nephew and apprentice. They man their shabby barbershop, dreaming of hitting the big time someday.
