First published 1997
Jemma O'Hurley refuses to marry the man her father selected for her in 1816 New Orleans. On a stormy night, she escapes her privileged world as a debutante and encounters another young woman fleeing danger. The two switch places, leaving Jemma alone on the treacherous city streets. Hunter Boone, a rugged backwoodsman from Illinois, discovers her there. He takes Jemma north along the Mississippi River to his frontier home. She must adapt to Hunter's harsh wilderness life and the hardworking people who surround him. Jemma struggles between her pampered upbringing and the demanding realities of frontier survival. Hunter challenges everything she believed about herself and her future. Their journey tests both characters as attraction grows between the refined Southern belle and the practical frontiersman. The story combines adventure and humor with passionate romance in the classic historical tradition.
Genres: romance, historical-fiction, adventure, 19th-century
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fish-out-of-water
Setting: New Orleans, Illinois, Mississippi River
Period: 1816
336 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Berkley