Even her great pitching in a baseball game did little to raise Gracie Lynne Calloway's spirits. It was her 25th birthday and this year's milestone brought no relief from the dread she felt, despite the best efforts of her Uncles Ben and Artie and her Aunt Alice. Abandoned as a baby and thought to be the illegitimate daughter of Rita (Ben's niece), the occasion only brought forward all her negative feelings about not having a momma or a dad.

Then the totally unexpected happened to scruffy jeans loving Gracie who lived her whole life being poor in the small town of Shady Grove, Alabama. A handsome P.I. named Sam Fontana waltzes into her life and she finds out that she is not who she thinks she is, but rather is the missing Katherine Hammond and the heir to a huge fortune in Connecticut!

Gracie's overwhelmed by this change in events as well as all the secret dealings that had been hidden from her. She wants to toss it all away and be plain old Gracie, but a catch in her father's will and with some nudging from the wisdom of her Uncle Artie give her a lifeline in this new topsy-turvy world where even her old friends no longer treat her the same. But, who can she trust in this new world of rapacious relatives and meddlesome media?

Lorelle Marinello has pitched a winning début Cinderella love story with an Alabama twist! There is a strong storyline with lots of little mysteries as Gracie strives to unravel all the secrets that people had held from her. The dialogue between the characteristics is realistic and humorous as it just pulls you into the warmth of living in this small southern town. Sam and Gracie are likable characters and while some of the secondary characters are a little too much like overblown roses, they seem to enhance and not distract from this charming story as Gracie strives to accept who she is while helping others not to salt the roses of others.