When State Department diplomat, Will Ross, returns to his hometown of Tranquility, New York, he is stunned to find the dairy farms and pristine hardwood groves along the Susquehanna River valley desecrated by gas-drilling wells. Unwittingly, he becomes entwined with an international energy cartel determined to obtain control of natural gas reserves in the Northeast U.S, at any cost. Will risks all, including his career and life, to expose the political cabal behind the cartel. He teams-up with his old flame, and now a Congressional candidate, Stephanie Hall, whose son has fallen ill from irresponsible drilling practices. Together, they work to bring their unrequited love and story to an unexpected and emotional conclusion."Hotbed in Tranquility" is a best-selling novel and the first book to be published on the debate surrounding gas-drilling in the Marcellus Shale field of New York and Pennsylvania. The product of three-years of research, it received unprecedented media attention and contains an abundance of facts about gas drilling, both pro and con, as seen through the eyes of the story's characters. It is informative and entertaining, in addition to being factually accurate and an enjoyably fast-read - "especially on a cold winter night with a glass of wine," according to a local journalist and reviewer.