Virginia financier Julian McCaid has put his troubled past
behind him. His plans for the future don't include Audrey
Sheridan, the extraordinary frontier woman he met just once.
But it's because of her that he's come to the Dakota
Territory to investigate problems at his ranch. And it's all
the more surprising when he discovers she isn't the innocent
he believed. Now nothing but her complete surrender will
purge her from his soul. If it weren't for the children she
cares for in her makeshift orphanage, Audrey would have left
Defiance long ago. Now the sheriff is blackmailing her to
distract the man who might derail his corrupt schemes - a
man who can offer Audrey not just protection, but a passion
bold enough to make them claim their place in this harsh and
beautiful land...