From the author of Love and Splendor and This Savage Heart comes this passionate story of two star-crossed lovers destined to find heaven...or hell...in each other's arms, — It is 1858 and in the sultry heat f a Louisiana summer, 16-year old Anjele Sinclair, a dazzling, green-eyed beauty, dreams of passion and romance. But in a few months Anjele, the daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, is to be married to Gaylor Duval - a man she does not love, but to whom she has been betrothed since birth.
Wanting her last days as a single woman to be happy ones, Anjele retreats to her favorite spot by the river. There she sees Gator for the first time, working in a cane field. She tries to appear indifferent to his handsome Cajun face and tanned, muscular body, but her cheeks flush and her eyes betray her.
Their paths cross several more times and soon they fall in love, meeting in the sweet darkness of the bayou.
But they are driven apart by Anjele's father aned by the lies of her falsehearted stepsister, Claudia, who sees them making love. Accused of rape, Gator flees his home and Anjele is sent to England to forget his searing touch.
After four long years, she returns to her beloved South to find a land devastated by war and her family decimated by death. Now she falls prey to her ruthless stepsister, who will stop at nothing to gain control of the plantation and who accuses Anjele f aiding the rebels. Only Gator can save her from prison and death, but he has become her enemy. « less