title: Requiem in Red
author: Roth, Norma J.
description: Myrna Schroeder's beauty shines as she goes about her night shift job in the drab factory. Her beauty, however, is a cross she must bear. It's 1952, and no Mrs. is in her name, no gold ring on her left hand. Her child, Scarlett, five, is the result of a night of terror perpetrated by a man whose name she keeps secret. She is the core of Myrna's life. Myrna has erased all thought of romance from her mind. Then, an accident at the factory brings her to the attention of Mark Weston, unhappily married owner of the factory. Their meeting is like the collision of two atoms, but Myrna rejects his advances. Mark and his wife divorce. He and Myrna almost touch complete happiness until Scarlett's wild, fire-red hair and green Dragon Eyes reveal her father's identity to Myrna's aunt Ada. Ada decides to blackmail him, beginning a chain reaction that sets off the explosion which almost destroys Myrna. Can she recover to let love back into her life? Can Mark's love repair her shattered world? Will they live the dream they began?