Big Time, the latest offering from prolific novelist and screenwriter Ben H. Winters, is as philosophical as it is electrifying to read. Set in the near future, the novel follows the interwoven stories of three Maryland women. Allie has just escaped an attempted kidnapping. Awakening in the hospital with fragmented memories and a strange device implanted in her chest, she is adamant that someone is still after her, though she doesn't know why. Desiree is Allie's would-be assailant. She was hired to bring the target to her client and is determined to see the job through no matter the cost. Grace balances caring for her teenage child and aging mother with her work at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health. She is brought in after hours to look into the unusual model of portacath (see Beyond the Book) found inside Allie.

Grace's investigation sparks the unravelling of...