Against all odds they made their dreams come true, building one of the world's largest trading companies and most luxurious hotels... They had only each other--and bloody secrets to bury even as they rose to dizzying heights, wary of love yet vulnerable to passion in its most dangerous forms... The Mandarin would pass his multi-billion-dollar empire only to the women in the Lai Tsin dynasty--along with one last devastating truth....Sweeping from the turn of the century through the 1960's, from the Orient to San Francisco and New York, Elizabeth Adler has written a magnificent novel of new wealth and old privilege, family passions and secret shame, of women surviving, triumphant, in the riveting saga of romantic intrigue.

    Nothing in sixteen-year-old Mary MacAllistair's years in a convent school had prepared her for the mysterious box left to her by the mother she had never known. The name and address carved beneath the lid and its enigmatic contents were her only clues to her real identity, but enough to light a ragging desire to find her family and her past. Thus Mary would begin an unforgettable journey to that town of irrepressible hopes and dangerous dreams --- New Orleans. Here from an exotic bordello to an antebellum plantation to a sultry Quadroon Ball, she would ultimately expose the darkest secrets of the city itself. Here she would meet the seductive and irresistibly handsome Valmount Saint-Brevin, a man with the power to ruin her. And here she would have the chance to find the greatest legacy of all: the fulfillment of love.

    . . When she's first awakened in the hospital, frightened and in pain, only the gentle, masculine voice of a stranger had the power to soothe Casey Farrow. Dan Murdock had dragged her from the wreckage of her car and saved her life. He'd held her hand and lent her his strength. But now, as she contemplated a future forever altered by the scars that marred her body and ended her career, Casey wondered why Dan was still there. . . .Until he showed her that it had just begun She didn't want his pity. She didn't need his help. And when he told her that he loved her, Casey thought he'd lost his mind. One look in the mirror was enough to convince her that no man as attractive as Dan Murdock could possibly want her . . . until the night he showed her how wrong she could be. But wanting and loving are two very different things, and now Casey wonders if theirs is truly a love that can last for all time. . . .

    Gregory, whom she has not seen since childhood. She is stunned to discover that he has returned with a betrothed; beautiful Gloriana is to be cast into a nunnery. Dane's mysterious sister-in-law, Elaina, counsels her to win Dane's heart or see the entire Kenbrook line imperiled.Entranced by her passionate will, he cannot resist Gloriana's potent charm, while she falls ever more deeply in love with Dane, her valiant swordsman. But their newfound happiness is brief — suddenly, Gloriana is swept across the chasm of time to a dazzling future. Trapped centuries apart, Gloriana and Dane suffer the torment of their longing, knowing that only their love for one another and the strength of their desire can reunite them at last.

    Joletta tries to track down the formula through journals written by her ancestress, Violet Fossier, who in 1854 made a grand tour of Europe. As Joletta follows Violet's itinerary across the continent, the story goes back in time, to nineteenth- century Europe and a scandalous love affair that is intimately bound up in the mystery of the perfume. In the present Joletta finds herself attracted to--and suspicious of--Rone Adamson, a Southern playboy whose astounding knowledge of perfume makes Joletta wary. Yet his chivalrous charms prove too much for her scruples, and Jolettta succumbs to her dubious white knight, even as danger swirls around them....A Main Selection of the Doubelday Book ClubFrom the Paperback edition.

    Now, John Clayton brazenly sets out to introduce Emma to the art of love. Original.

    One, charming, secure in his world and his riches. The other, an outcast of brooding sensuality, proud of his Indian ways.Lanna would be forced to choose between them - and between two kinds of life. And even as they fought to possess her, the dark legacy of greed and treachery that lay hidden in their family threatened to destroy her future - and her love.

    A romantic odd couple. It was clear at first sight. Bronwynn Prescott Pierson was a jet-setting socialite, a one-time fashion icon, and now a runaway bride. Wade Grayson was a straitlaced, ambitious congressman from the American heartland. They couldn’t have had less in common and more to lose by their accidental meeting in the Vermont woods, where they’d each gone in hopes of escaping the past.Both drawn to the ruins of the old Foxfire estate, the woman from Venus and the man from Washington were playing a dangerous game with the most volatile and unpredictable of human emotions. And when it all blew up, the press would be there to broadcast the disaster to the world. But what their enemies didn’t count on was that the power that drew them together would always be a little stronger than anything—or anyone—that would try to drive them apart.

    Mistaken for the Countess of Bridgewater, Ophelia saw no reason to reveal herself until she had stripped the hamlet of its fortunes and escaped into the sunset. Raised from grifter to gentlewoman, the fiery-haired actress couldn't help but chuckle at teaching a lesson to a town so sold on appearances. But the free-spirited beauty almost swallowed her script when she met Tyler, the town's virile mayor.When Tyler Matthews returned from an Ivy League college and his year abroad, he simply wanted to settle down and enjoy the simplicity of ranching. But his aunt and uncle were set on making a silk purse out of Dead End, and Tyler was going to be the new mayor. It was a job he took with little relish—until he caught a glimpse of the village's newest visitor. And as Tye got to know the "Countess" Ophelia, he grew to love her. But trusting her was a different story, and Tye swore that before he was through, he'd uncover her deepest secrets—and teach her that it's what's underneath that counts in matters of the heart.

    She is without pretext and assumes that a bright future awaits her as the bride of the wealthy Oliver Foy. Too soon she discovers that her life is a masquerade and pretense her only salvation. No one is whom he or she appears to be.Brushing against the concealed identities and hidden motives of others, Emma quickly acquires secrets of her own. When murder compels Emma to flee her husband's Jamaican plantation, she and her faithful friend find sanctuary wandering the Caribbean. Tragedy cuts short their ocean idyll and delivers Emma from her sea roamings. Once again, she adopts another name, another home, another appearance.

    With a whopper of a blizzard closing in, that's all he has time for. But the lawbreaker he pulls over is anything but typical. From her mile-long legs to her razor-sharp wit, Maisa Bradley is like nothing Coot Lake, Minnesota, has ever seen . . . and she's about to take Sam on the ride of his life. BEING BAD HAS ITS BENEFITSWhoever said blood is thicker than water probably wasn't related to a former Russian mobster. But an innocent mix-up and rumors of stolen diamonds soon have the Russian mob taking an unusual interest in the sleepy little town-and Maisa facing heated scrutiny from a certain tall, dark, and handsome deputy. Sam's dazzling blue eyes beg her to reveal all her secrets, but how much should she tell? Getting snowed in with the sexiest lawman in the frozen north may not be the worst way to decide . . .

    Frannie’s close friends rally around her, and next thing she knows, she is living in a mansion and wearing designer clothes. The only thing missing is a husband. Confirmed bachelor, Clay Coleman, has ulterior motives when he agrees to play the role of loving husband, but Fannie, who nursed a crush on him for years, fears she is flirting with danger in their role of let’s pretend. But Fannie and Clay aren’t the only ones keeping secrets. Sooner or later, the truth comes out, exposing everyone involved. Can Frannie ever get past her hurt when she discovers the truth about Clay?

    At the age of ninety-two, the head of Donovan Corporation deserved a household staff. What shocked Reid was the fact that his grandfather's majordomo was a sexy blond bombshell with big blue eyes and curves in all the right places. Considering the recent kidnapping threats his grandfather had received, Reid didn't think the lady butler was a good idea.A graduate of Ivor Spencer's London School for Butler Administrators, Margaret Guarneri wasn't ruffled by Reid Donovan's critical assessment. In the past year, she'd developed a rapport with the elderly Mr. Donovan, who was amused and delighted by the antics of her daughter Amy And apart from their personal attachment, Margaret was the perfect butler, from her firm demeanor to her black silk tuxedo.The situation had been ideal until Reid Donovan came along. One glimpse of his sherry brown eyes sent waves of heat shimmering through Margaret's cool facade. His tender touch reminded her how it felt to be a woman in love, a woman with needs and passions. But falling in love with the boss's grandson was strictly forbid-den, and Margaret was well schooled in protocol. She had to put duty before the lure of desire.

    It made no difference that she'd only just met the exotic half-blood or that he was the scandal of polite society. Flora had never lived according to anybody's rules, and the instant she felt the heat of Adam's savage passion, the only thing that mattered was that she wanted him.PURE SEDUCTIONAdam Serre couldn't help but be wary. Lady Flora was quite spectacular, with her daring beauty and delicious conversation, but the noble daughter of a famed archaeologist did not fall into the category of amorous interludes. And after just extricating himself from a vicious marriage, his interest in women was purely transitory. Until the incomparable Flora set out to seduce him with a temptation that was ... Pure Sin.

    As a ragged impoverished boy, he had been one with the villagers. Now, as the new Earl, he's met with hostility and resentment, especially from his childhood sweetheart, Marged Evans. To make things right with his people (and to win back Marged), he masquerades as a "Rebecca," one of the bewigged, white-cloaked leaders of the 1842 riots against Welsh toll roads. Disguised as a man, Marged rides as one of Rebecca's "daughters," and, as to be expected, falls in love with the man behind the mask.