Michele Turner

Fearsome Highland warrior Rory MacLeod has sacrificed for his clan. But taken as prisoner—in place of his older brother, who's meant to be laird—is more than any man should bear. So when the chance for escape presents itself, Rory risks everything for freedom. But instead of returning to the welcoming warmth of home, Rory steps into a blazing trap....

Marcas Matheson’s life has spiraled out of control. A fatal illness has ravaged his clan, taking not only his parents and his wife, but so many others of the clan. It’s called the curse of Black Isle. Worse, as heir to the chieftain, now Marcas must be both leader and savior to his people - but they are losing faith in him. Already there are murmurs that his poor decisions brought the curse, causing him to doubt his own ability to head the clan. But when his small daughter takes sick, Marcas has no problem making a decision: He must find a healer.

The rebellion is over. Prince Charles is in hiding, the Jacobite clans are scattered to the four winds, and in Inverness, the Duke of Cumberland plans a brutal retribution against the Highlanders who rose against his father. His intention: to ensure they can never rise again. Alex, knowing Beth to be dead, leads his men into a vicious war of attrition against the British Redcoats, who have destroyed everything in life he ever held dear. Only his desire for revenge keeps him alive.

It is 1745 and the rebellion that the Jacobites have worked towards for so many years is finally under way. Prince Charles is in Scotland gathering the clans and they are rising, ready to fight and if necessary, die for him. At his prince’s command, Alex, trapped by his own success as a spy, reluctantly remains in London with Beth. His clansmen, meanwhile, head north to join the rebels.

The year is 1744 and Prince Charles Edward Stuart is stranded in France, his hopes temporarily frustrated, as the planned French invasion to restore his father to the British throne has had to be abandoned. The prince, frustrated beyond endurance, makes an impulsive decision that will change not only the lives of the MacGregor family but the history of Britain forever. Meanwhile in London, Beth, bored to distraction by the inanity of society life, hatches a plot with her friend Caroline to free the timid Anne Maynard from the clutches of her domineering guardians.

The spring of 1824 is a challenging one for the inhabitants of Paradise N.Y. when a flood devastates the village. But for Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bonner, it’s also a time of reunion as their children return from far-off places: Lily and her husband from Italy, and Martha Kirby, the Bonners’ ward, from Manhattan. Although Lily is nursing her own grief, it is Martha, fleeing a crushing humiliation, who brings with her trouble that will reverberate in all their lives.