Blood Kin — Ceridwen Dovey

Three men are hostages in the presidential palace and can hear the faint roar of a military coup in progress in the city below. All three of the men--the ex-President's barber, chef, and portraitist--have kept secrets from a lover or a daughter that begin to haunt them, and these women, in turn, are forced to admit that they have betrayed their men. At first, the banal duties the men used to perform for the corrupt President seem harmless. But when the coup is complete and the new Commander returns to the palace, will he believe that these men and women have nothing to hide?