It was to be all in good fun. Geoff and Ellen agree to perform in the annual Roanoke Festival Ballet Company's production of the Nutcracker. Ellen had danced a little as a kid, Geoff not so much. But bit by bit it gets complicated. Who is the young woman with a tiny child Ellen found sleeping on their front steps? Why has their old friend Honoria also become an unexpected house guest? Why is the FBI investigating their show? Is their friend t'Harru really going to dance a lead role, the mysterious Drosselmeyer? There might be some very serious dangers ahead for the performance. Or it may be nothing but misconstrued analysis of fragmentary top secret intercepts. Every agent and agency wants somebody else to decide. The show must go on, fingers crossed so tight they're turning blue. Geoffrey and Ellen live in Roanoke, Virginia, in the mountains north of town. Geoff is a poet who teaches creative writing at Hollins University and Roanoke College. Ellen is a free-lance travel writer, frequently published in TravelAmerica. Geoff travels with Ellen, when his schedule allows and she can persuade him to come. With an uncanny frequency they find themselves involved in murder investigations, often involving deaths not recognized as crimes. For more information, or to leave comments, visit www.budcrawford.com.