Lena Silverstone and her brother were rescued from starvation and worse by Morris, a man who recalls an earlier time before the world went insane.  She has never agreed with her guardian’s conspiracy theories involving the government, especially the rumors about unethical, secret “experiments” that involve switching citizens with identical replacements.  That is until she witnesses something peculiar revolving around Morris and a gorgeous stranger that stumbles into her life.   She fears the worse, meaning that Morris might be involved with rebel factions retaliating against the government.  When Lena is imprisoned, she’s forced into relying on the mysterious man she is drawn to in order to make it out alive.

Dax fights an ongoing battle against forces that would make a lesser man give up.  He’s also willing to sacrifice himself for his beliefs except he’s in it to win.  Circumstances convince him that Lena is a clone, so he rejects his feelings, aware of what happens to replicas that are captured by the rebels.  No matter how hard he tries to distance himself it proves impossible because the past, present, and future are intertwined.

Once again, Ms. O’Connor’s draws realistic pictures of a not-too-distant future in Clone Wars: Armageddon.   Her writing flows from scene to scene, and I could “see” everything moving in front of me like movies clips. The powers-that-be in this story are formidable, and both Lena and Dax come out swinging every round.  Dax is all Alpha male, uncompromisingly dangerous, ruthless, and passionate, as tough to kill as he is sexy.  Lena was a pleasant surprise; it was pretty cool to witness her transition, resilience and ability to metaphorically swim in waters infested with rabid sharks.