characters. Sergeant the horse was quite an amusing plot device in and of himself. Once again we get what seems like a depiction of rural America that rings true. There were enough good things about this novel to outweigh the minor missteps, and I look forward to what this author can do with a little seasoning to smooth out the transitions in the narrative, and harness her remarkable way with words. This is a wonderfully written story going far and beyond my expectations of a first novel. The author takes you on a journey with her characters while delicately blending in many issues, trials and triumphs. She masterfully weaves many elements of life, choices, love and a harsh upbringing in to a well detailed story. The story is emotionally satisfying and the characters are well developed while we watch them grow as women and partners. Collier Ann Torrington is a fugitive from her own family. She ran away on her wedding day when her father, a powerful US senator, tried to force her to marry a man who would further her father's career. She doesn't have a plan except to keep running so that Senator Torrington can't use his extensive resources to find her. An accident that damages her motorcycle strands her in the Blue Ridge Mountains however and she finds herself hiding on a farm owned by Meri Margaret Donovan. Meri has suffered her own trauma and prefers the life of a semi-recluse, shying away from interacting with the