A Vessel of Honor — Margaret Miller

Margaret Miller's first novel is a story of love and intrigue set in America amid the backdrop of global terrorism. A Holy War or Jihad has been declared, changing life for everyone. Two women engineers suddenly find themselves drawn into this international drama as they struggle to complete the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft. Their muddled private lives add to the tension. Tisha O'Brien has an abiding faith in God, and "those roots of middy blouses and pleated skirts, prayer books and incense-filled churches went deep." This faith is tested when she falls in love with a married man. Audra Shields sees herself as a modern Lady Chatterly, "liberated but not forsaking breeding, intellect, or femininity." She begins to question her lifestyle when she becomes involved with a dangerous stranger. Both women struggle to sort out their personal problems while racing the clock to finish a project fraught with sabotage and murder.