"Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguez went to Afghanistan as part of a humanitarian aid group. Surrounded by people whose skills--as doctors, nurses, and therapists--seemed eminently more practical than her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother from Michigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she found she had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her profession became known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners...

"When Beauty Box beautician Tammy Smith is discovered with a pair of hair shears in her back, there are suspects and secrets aplenty in her small Southern town. Octogenarian Myrtle Clover, bored by bingo and bridge, is intrigued by the crime-- and her neighbors' secrets. But discovering, and blabbing, secrets got Tami killed and Myrtle soon learns her sleuthing isn't just dangerous-- it's deadly."--P. [4] of cover.

Fifteen interrelated stories explore different aspects of love, such as a dying father's determination to help start a family business--a beauty salon--and the relationship of two teens who plan to remain celibate until they marry.

Lily Bishop wakes up one morning to find a good-bye note and divorce papers from her husband on the kitchen counter. Having moved to Alabama for his job only weeks before, Lily is devastated, but a flyer at the grocery store for a hair stylist position in a local retirement community provides a refuge while she contemplates her next steps. Rose Carrigan built the small retirement village of Safe Harbor years ago--just before her husband ran off with...

Louise and Ruby use Louise's "Deluxe Beauty Kit" to give Max a make-over, but when Grandma calls to schedule her own make-over, she makes an appointment with Max.

At Walter's World of Beauty, Luisa's secret plans are underway to create a very special birthday celebration for her hard-working, single mother who is employed there as a stylist.

When thirteen-year-old Mickey starts working at her mother's fabulous hair salon and tells secrets she learns there to people at school in order to be more popular, her plans backfire.

When Sunny and her friends help Timmy out of an apple tree, he gives them fresh apples in thanks, but when the apples keep coming, Sunny must think of a creative way to use them.

Style hair, customize makeup, and accessorize each fashionesta in the Dream Salon.

As part of a school project, Lizbeth is working in Mickey's mother's beauty salon for three weeks and Mickey, fearing that her new friend will outshine her, tries to prove herself by dying a customer's hair on her own.