Becky White is out of options. Destitute, alone, and pregnant, employment in a brothel seems her only chance of survival in the wild west mining town of South Pass City. As she stands on the creek bank contemplating the unthinkable, fate takes a hand. The earth crumbles beneath her feel and pitches her into the raging torrent Unable to fight the high spring run-off, she surrenders to the flood, thinking death might be the best solution after all When Garrick Swenson saves a young woman from drowning, he realizes providence has given him a way to atone for his guilty past. He offers Becky and her baby the protection of his name, with no strings attached. Just as they find themselves wanting a true marriage in every sense of the word the past surfaces to tear them apart. With Garrick facing the hangman's noose and Becky's future uncertain, it appears not even love can conquer all. AWARDS: Winner of the National Reader's Choice Award Coeur Du Bois Heart of Romance Award Finalist for the RITA Award The Road To Romance Reviewer's Choice Award March 2004 WCP Publisher's Pick Award