Silas Dewitt, newly arrived in an Idaho gold camp, saves two Chinese boys from a mob of drunken miners. But one of them turns out to an independent, stubborn, lovely woman who decides her role is to protect him. Soomey, shaped by poverty and sexual slavery, sees Silas as her means to freedom and independence?until she falls in love with him. Knowing that she is assisting in her own heartbreak, she guards his back as he searches for a cache of gold nuggets. A vicious killer stalks them both, hating Soomey for her race, Silas for his wealth. Silas faces him in a desperate knife battle, but is too late to save Soomey from painful torture. Scarred in body and soul, Soomey tries to leave him. Can Silas holds her with passion, tenderness, and a promise of eternal love?

Judith B. Glad writes romance because she believes every story should have a happy ending, even if it requires two or three hankies to get there. After growing up in Idaho, Judith now lives in Portland, Oregon, where flowers bloom in her yard every month of the year and snow usually stays on the mountains where it belongs. It's a great place to write, because the rainy season lasts for eight months?a perfect excuse to stay indoors and tell stories. When she's not writing, Judith is riding her bicycle, messing about in the kitchen, editing other people's books or creating prize-winning cover art. Visit Judith's webpage at www.judithbglad.com to learn more about all her books, in several romance genres--because she can't make up her mind which she enjoys writing the most.