Collette's suspicions and jealousies arise, but are tempered from the guilt of her own infidelity. The field slave, Tabari, finally escapes but is hunted by two saddle tramps and the law. Throughout it all, the scalawag Doctor disrupts everyone's lives, managing to line his own pockets all the while. Set in and around New Orleans, this deeply moving tale of scandal, sex, and suspense follows the voyages of these very different characters in the 1850s.

    and everybody’s armed Territory of Arizona, 1882: Luther Ames returns to the settlement of Trinity Meadows to discover his brother’s fresh grave. It lies beside the charred remains of his cabin. Billy was shot point-blank and burned with a branding iron.He’s the third such victim in as many weeks.Rumors swirl that Billy was part of a band of cattle rustlers, but Luther knows that’s a lie.Scores of cattle are going missing and the town is on the brink of a shooting war between the homesteaders and the wealthy ranchers.With the killers out for blood, Luther comes across a lone woman hiding in an abandoned shack right in the path of the rustlers. She’s hauntingly beautiful, she’s in danger, and she’s one of the rancher’s daughters.Suddenly the lines that have been drawn are no longer clear. Allies might be enemies, friendships are not what they seem, and everybody’s armed…