The Rules of Engagement

Arcadia Hearne fled Canada for Britain ten years ago after witnessing her two young lovers fight a duel in a Toronto ravine. A conflict specialist with London's Centre for Contemporary War Studies, the reclusive 31-year-old has since become adept at avoiding all forms of risk -- geopolitical and romantic. But when her activist sister persuades her to deliver a package to a Somali refugee, Arcadia is forced to confront the hidden violence of her past and to embrace the dangerous possibilities of the present.
Wendy Van Riesen's eloquent reading captures the emotional tension and intellectual rigor of this tautly constructed literary thriller about love and apathy in the era of Rwanda.

Catherine Bush is the author of five novels, including Blaze Island, the Canada Reads long-listed Accusation, the Trillium Award shortlisted Claire's Head, The Rules of Engagement, a New York Times Notable Book and a L.A. Times Best Book of the Year, and Minus Time, shortlisted for the City of Toronto Book Award. She was recently a Fiction Meets Science Fellow at the HWK in Germany and has spoken internationally about addressing the climate crisis in fiction. She is Coordinator of the University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA and can be found online at www.catherinebush.com. She lives in Toronto.