The Year of the Salamander

Desmond, Gabriel, and Sam return in this sequel to Specter's Gamble. Two years have passed since the events in the first book. Gabriel is an analyst for one of the bigger banks, Desmond is a military school instructor, and Sam keeps obsessing about cleaning the house. One day, Gabriel returns home early, since he just happened to fall in love with a white fluffy puppy, whom he immediately adopted, to Sam's greatest joy, and to Desmond's even greater horror. Three start living with the dog, adjusting to changes. Everything is going great until Desmond finds out that this particular year is a huge event. It's the year of the Flaming Lizard and Winter Equinox at the same time - the same kind of year that had almost caused a major catastrophe for all human kind 98 years ago. They face even greater problems when they find out about the sacrifice that has to be made in order to bring forth one of the old gods. A discovery that makes Desmond feel cold in the midst of a hot late-August day...