In this sequel to Time Rogues the year is 2152, a future in which mankind is confined to the Earth's Core, unless you are a Time Rogue, like Maude Kincaid, who are genetically suited to travel to past to heal temporal rifts. Insuring the future by saving the past is their motto. A Rogue has time for nothing but the next mission, and especially not romance, but Maude's last jump had brought her into contact with 21st century cowboy/PhD Preston "Gil Gillespie and sparked a connection she had not wanted to forget. Of course it had been necessary that he forget her, and he would courtesy of a memory purge, but she had chosen not to submit to one but rather download the memory of their brief moment in time to a memory chip to be revisited in her down time. Little did she know that triggering that chip was also triggering Gil's episodes in the past.
The strange and recurring episodes in which Gil had waking dreams of a somehow familiar bald beauty had the newly appointed museum curator questioning his sanity. That is until he spotted her in the flesh visiting with his boss Mackenzie Cates Mason (Time Rogues). As a result Gil finds himself back in the future and in need of further memory modification.
Although it is determined that Gil's genetics puts him off the charts in both the Scio and Rogue spectrums he is denied permanent residence in the future, designated as an EE (era essential). After yet another mind purge he would be sent back to 2008 once more to live out his life, but not before he and Maude rock each other's world for one last time. After a night of unbelievable passion Gil knows without a doubt that only a total purge could erase the memory of this woman who had stolen his rough and ready heart. But their time together is cut short when Maude's fails a routine body scan. Soon the pair will be forced to defy inviolate protocol and make unauthorized transits in a race against time to save her future.
As with most titles from the SHOMI line the fantasy plot is far stronger than the romance development. In this case the connection is fait accompli pretty much from the get go. But for the record it works just fine (the line is labeled "action/adventure" after all). The question becomes how much are these two willing to risk to ensure that they will have a future and will it be together or in their own respective times? The story moves somewhat slowly until about two thirds of the way through, it is just enough to keep the reader engaged while providing necessary clues that one won't realize they need until the critical plot twist catches them unaware and then it's off to the races. What I like best about this story is that in spite of the future society's advancements the human factor cannot be discounted as Maude's friends break every rule in the book to keep her in their lives.
