New York Times best-selling author Ellen Hopkins is widely admired for her captivating poetic verse and controversial subject matter, which are evidenced in such novels as Crank and Triangles. In Collateral, Ashley is an MFA student who never pictured herself as a military wife- but she's headed down that path with her Marine boyfriend Cole. After struggling through four deployments in five years, Ashley isn' t sure what she wants anymore. So when she meets a handsome professor who shares her passions and values, the situation becomes far more complicated.