and a single parent. When Cassie's uncle left them an old farm, they moved out to the farmhouse and Cassie's mother continued her sculpting. Cassie and her mother were always outsiders in the community, never quite able to fit in and never quite wanting to, either. Eventually, Cassie moved to Ann Arbor and started attending the University of Michigan's medical college. While she was there, she 'contracted' angelism and spent her time in a 'coop,' a safehouse run by other angels where one could transform in security. Returning to school, Cassie realized that she did not really want to become a medical doctor, but still wanted to help people. She chose to become a psychiatrist, and specialized in angels. Cassie's book Angel Blues is considered the definitive work on angel psychology (largely because there is no other work on angel psychology) but Cassie believes herself to be a fake; she claims she wrote the book to "meet Oprah." After having a falling out with her patients and her colleagues, she was diagnosed as a flying addict and received treatment for it. This is roughly the time when she saved Zander's life, and he set up a meeting between them to work on his agoraphobia. Working with Zander re-enthused Cassie to get back to working with her regular patients. She began treating Zander's old drug buddy, who had partially transformed into an angel. To be precise he was a 'penguin,' an angel without the extensive nerves in his wings and lacking a sense of balance when upright. Therefore, he had to shuffle around the ground on all fours or be pushed in a wheelchair. Zander takes on the case, declaring that 'he doesn't need a psychologist... he needs an engineer.' Using a series of counterbalances and a walker, he gets his buddy on his feet again and effectively cures penguinism. It is about this point where Zander and Cassie begin really exploring the possibilities of a sexual relationship, beyond doctor-patient and friend-friend. External links 1996 American novels 1996 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Novels set in Detroit