Nadia Riley has come back for her second semester at Desert Mountain Academy and a new team member, Simon, has replaced Damon on their team. The dean of students has also been replaced by a current CIA operative named Shepard who has decided to make the senior leader projects a real-life simulation of a full CIA operation with the leaders as handlers. The juniors including Nadia, Libby, Alan, and Simon carry out separate missions as part of Jack's overall operation. Jack's assignment involves a company called Genetech, where the DNA database for CIA operatives is stored. When Damon comes back insisting that his mother has been kidnapped and he needs Nadia's help to get her back, their investigation reveals that Jack's project is more real-life than simulation.

As with Desert Dark, Dark Divide is told from the perspective of different characters in alternating chapters. Also as with Desert Dark, the first chapter of the book details an action sequence that happens later in the book, and then flashes back to what happens leading up to those events in the first chapter. Once again, the characters in the book are relatable and well-developed. Political intrigue and cloak and dagger adventures make their journey entertaining. Although the story is pretty far-fetched, the action and suspense create first class escapist fiction and a very enjoyable read. ( )