Between June and December 2013, five of South Africa’s best authors teamed up with five talented young writers to bring you this anthology of fast-paced, exciting short stories. From romance and heartache, to mystery and crime, these stories have something thrilling for every reader.Maire Fisher and Jean-Paul Willemse take a walk on the dark side in the haunting mystery ‘Among the Stars’ (Part 1and 2).Helen Brain and Mzimkhulu Mackenzie write of the trials and tribulations of a group of friends who all work in the same shopping mall in ‘The Red Necklace’ and ‘Sister Trouble’.Michelle Faure and Zikhona Gwadiso spin a tale of romance and intrigue with their delightful – if slightly ditsy-heroine, Andisiwe in ‘Truth or Dare’ and ‘Second Time Lucky’.Sonwabiso Ngcowa and Asavela Peko aren’t frightened to tackle a hard-hitting story of abuse that splits a family in two in their stories, ‘Damage’ and ‘Free at Last! Joanne Hichens and Phoebe Sibomana write a fast-paced, nail-biting, crime story of kidnap and extortion in ‘Tom Apart’ and ‘Payback’.

Busi feels left out! Her friends have won a talent competition, but the only talent she has is for being late for school! When she climbs out of a broken window at Harmony High and escapes onto the street her life is about to change. The smooth, handsome taxi driver, Parks, stops to pick her up and there is no going back. But Busi soon finds herself out of her depth and realises that Parks has a secret he isn’t sharing…