Set in Leningrad in 1941 against Hitler's invasion of Russia, this story tells of the impossible love between a Russian girl, Tatiana, and a young officer named Alexander. It is a love that could tear Tatiana's family apart and it carries a secret that could mean death for anyone who hears it.

This book develops from a strong claim: namely, that style is meaningful. A textbook may not be the best place to advance a strong claim, so, to make this claim less conspicuous, I could downgrade it by describing it as in keeping with established views. I could point out that few authors of composition textbooks deny the importance of style, and most offer advice on words and sentences. And I could point out that many researchers, especially those working in English for Special Purposes, have analyzed style in the scholarly genres. In turn, these inquiries could be seen as developing the long standing sociol-inguistic idea of "register," the condition which indexes language for use in definable social settings.

The year is 1942. The German war machine rolls across Europe, crushing everything in its path. America has only recently entered the war, and the price paid by its allies is already high. The war could drag on for years, could go either way...until the day a strange metallic craft crashes behind enemy lines, bringing with it secrets of world-shattering consequence. The Nazis are quick to capture the spacecraft and its unearthly occupants, anxious to make use of interstellar devices that could allow them to accomplish their goal of annihilating their enemies. Realizing what might happen should the Nazis master the alien technology and subjugate its woners, the Allies send in a suicide squad—a group snidely referred to as "Logan's Losers"—to rescue the aliens and their secrets... or destroy them before the enemy can.

In June of 1842, Edgar Allan Poe took up his pen to broach a delicate subject with an old friend. “Have I offended you by any of my evil deeds?” he asked. “If so, how? Time was when you could spare a few minutes occasionally for communion with a friend.”