Stress Test — Alan Gold

Sandy Skinner and Billey Elwood have nothing -- and everything -- in common. She's a math prodigy and a young mother struggling against a male-dominated world that doesn't add up. He's the son of a petty thief with a mad plan to make one big heist that will set him up for life. Each of them tries to shield something precious from the brute forces that have toyed with their lives. Sandy and Billey's parallel stories converge -- like railroad tracks on the horizon -- with the appearance of a stranger whose own inscrutable scheme may change their lives forever. Stress Test is a 2012 Next Generation Indie Book Awards finalist.