Decades after a global depression, a new world has emerged where there is no war, less hunger, and more opportunity to work than anyone can remember. So what isn’t right about the picture?

Leaving Ashwood, the final book in the speculative fiction Ashwood trilogy by award-winning author Cynthia Kraack, explores the question ‘if mega multinational corporations ruled the world would life be all that bad?’ Have shareholders’ votes replaced the importance of citizens’ votes?

Anne Hartford, CEO of Hartford Enterprises, has built a significant agribusiness out of the ruins of an early 21^st century global depression with hopes that financial security will assure her family certain freedoms. But a world where a small number of multinational corporations have banded together to create controlled markets has placed tight constraints on individuals’ opportunity to choose a career or lifestyle. Can one female business leader call to action a government no longer connected to its citizens?

Stepping outside her position of authority poses threats to everything Anne values. Mind-controlling research, invasive technology and the world of corporate power are difficult armies to battle when the cost of losing is catastrophic. Leaving Ashwood is not a decision simply made.