In 1970s Brooklyn, with the promise of violence everywhere, a currency itself, this story of community, crime and gentrification chronicles more than 50 years of life in one neighborhood where the players write the headlines, the histories and the laws of the streets.

"Meredith White was one of Hollywood's most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California, plunging the Bay Area into chaos. Without a moment's hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors...

Twelve-year-old Army is reeling after her thoughtlessness leads to her dog's death, but channels her grief into a plan to help keep the new neighbors' autistic daughter from wandering away.

"Kiran Mathur knows firsthand just how dangerous love can be. After all, her sister's marriage in India nearly destroyed Kiran's family. So she's decided to redeem romance herself-by not falling for anyone who might disappoint her parents. That is, until she meets her new neighbor Nash Hawthorne..."--

After her fianc'̌s brother convinces him to break up with her before the wedding, Athena Greydon moves into a ten-foot-wide Spite House between the two and engages in some well-deserved payback.

Small towns often hold the deepest secrets. Such is the case for Essie and her family. When a new woman moves next door to Essie, she is an immediate object of curiosity in the neighborhood. As the two women grow closer and Essie's friends disapprove, it starts to become clear that Isabelle's choice of neighborhood was no accident-- and her presence might bring even more secrets to light.

"American Angie Donovan has never wanted much. When you grow up getting bounced from foster home to foster home, you learn not to become attached to anything, anyone, or any place. But it only took her two days to fall in love with Australia. With her visa clock ticking, surely she can fall in love with an Australian--and get hitched--in two months--especially if he's as hot and funny as her next-door neighbor"--Back cover.