When Jena's new boyfriend Herm announces that he is traveling the Northshore of Lake Superior to meet commander Donner, she is skeptical. After all, Herm is convinced that he is an alien from the planet Xylan who has been sent to Earth to search for rare minerals. As far as she is concerned, he is living in a dream world. However, Herm is also a nice guy, the best she's ever known, and she enjoys being with him. So does her eight-year-old daughter Sylvie. If only it wasn't for that alien issue…

Jena is conflicted. Herm's entire trip up north seems like a figment of his imagination. The night before he is scheduled to leave, they argue but to no avail. He leaves the next morning, and Jena is not so much distraught as she is ready to forget all about him and move on. Six hours later, though, she receives a text. Herm has been put in jail for hitchhiking in a small town north of Duluth. Against her better judgment, Jena travels north to help him, taking Sylvie with her along with her best friend Kalli.

Unbeknownst to Jena, on the drive north, Herm escapes from jail and goes on the run. Jena is able to find him, and she agrees to take him to his meeting with the commander. It is then she learns the awful truth about Herm's past.

This is a story of the horrors that some people can inflict upon the innocent. It is also a story of how incredibly strong the human spirit is. Ultimately, it is a story of how strong the bonds of love truly can be.

Chapter Four Excerpt:

Jena's car was an old grey Ford Fiesta that had seen better days. She turned the key and held her breath that the starter would work. Grrrrr. Grrrrr. It laboriously ground away and then…Bingo! She grinned, pumped her fist in the air, and the goosed the accelerator when the engine when the engine kicked over and started running. "Yea!!"

From the back seat, Sylvie cheered, too. "Way to go, Mom!"

Next to her, not at all that caught up in the excitement of the moment, Kalli drolly asked, "You sure this baby will make it all the way to Duluth? And Basalt?"

"Absolutely," Jena said, patting the dashboard. "No doubt in my mind." Then she mentally crossed her fingers. Please, please, please don't break down.

As if the old Ford understood, it settled into a nice even idle. Jena smiled. Good car.

Kalli frowned and was about to say something derogatory but decided to let it pass and take the higher ground. "Well, okay," she said, fastening her seat belt. "You're the boss. Duluth here we come."

"And then Basalt," Sylvie said from the backseat. "We're going to see Herm!"

"That's right, honey," Jena said as she pulled away from the small single-story house where Kalli lived with her boyfriend and two dogs. "Are you excited?"

"I am, Mom." Sylvie said. She looked out the window for a moment or two and then joked and said, "Are we there yet?"

Jena and Kalli rolled their eyes and grinned at each other. Precocious child is what they were both thinking.

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