The TESS novels are based on actual political and military events on the international stage. The characters are modeled after fascinating persons I had the good fortune to meet during my long career. She is a military pilot, talented but was also obsessive, relentless, impulsive, and a perfectionist. On the plus side, she is passionate, a fine classical pianist, and has a heart of gold. She is fiercely protective of her people and will go to extreme lengths to protect them. As much as Tess challenges everyone in her orbit, she never asks people to do something that she wouldn’t do herself. Most men are attracted by Tess’s passion and beauty but soon recognize that she is difficult to handle. That does not dissuade Amir, an Iraqi general, from developing an obsession for her when she is captured during a rescue mission. Tess escapes but is obliged to find the daughter of a Kurdish woman that Amir enslaved. The woman dies helping Tess escape, and Tess promises she will take her child away from Amir. Jake, a CIA operative, also one of her Tess’s admirers, helps her with her quest. Tess ends up on a collision course with Amir and pursues him to his ancestral home in Istanbul. A sophisticated, interesting man, Amir is wealthy, captivating but also shrewd and cruel. Tess and Amir clash and their interactions are complicated by Amir’s persistent obsession with her. In an epic confrontation of wills, Tess and Amir spar in Istanbul, Paris, the Amalfi Coast, and French Riviera. The climax occurs in Guilford, England. After many trials, Tess and Amir develop an unbreakable connection that leads to heartbreak and tragedy.