The Hopes and Fears of Future Years: Loss and Creation is the third book in Dean Lawrence Velvel's quartet, Thine Alabaster Cities Gleam. It is a story of practicing law in Washington in the 1970s and '80s. It tells of egotism, greed, questionable conduct, and outright misconduct. It also tells of trying to negotiate this modern minefield while keeping to older values like honesty, modesty, and hard work.