Miss Lacy Phalen is Boston's premier heiress and beauty. But being forced into marriage with is not for her, so after being nearly raped by the man who wants to control her and almost controls her father's shipping line, she ventures out west. Settling in Paradise, MO as the school marm, she meets her savior from the near rape.
Ben Paradise is his own man. In love with Lacy, but she won't let him in. After a brutal beating and another near rape, she is forced to resign as school marm. Having nowhere else to turn, she lives in Ben's house of ill-repute. She serves drinks and not men, until one night she finally gives in to Ben and they begin a torrid love affair that leads them to San Francisco and the gold rush. Even her father shows up at the end to bless their union and save his shipping line.
I really enjoy reading this book. I won't trade it away because the characters are very special to me. The drama and the action are excellent in this story. I didn't expect all the twists and turns this books took. The locations chosen for the settings of this story are quite diverse and show each character in different lights. It's a nice change of pace from some books which never change scenery.
When Ben Paradise met Lacy she wasthe untouchable heiress to the Puritan Shipping Line.What brought her to the little town of Paradise, MO?He wasn't buying her story that she was the new school marm.
