It is New York, 1904, and Dulcy Remfrey has traveled the globe with her eccentric father Walton, a wealthy entrepreneur obsessed with earthquakes and catastrophe, desperately searching to cure his long battle with syphilis through any crackpot means necessary.  Their deep connection is tested, however, when Walton returns from an African expedition without any of the proceeds from the sale of his gold mine. It seems he’s lost his mind along with the great sum of money. Dulcy’s obsessive ex-fiancé (and her father’s business partner) insists Dulcy come to Seattle to decipher her father’s cryptic notebooks—a dozen in all, wrapped in brightly colored silk—which may hold clues to the missing funds. Yet when her father unexpectedly dies before they can locate the money, Dulcy falls under the suspicion of her violent ex-fiancé. Petrified of being forced to spend the rest of her life with him, Dulcy bravely decides to disappear from the train bringing her father’s body home. 

 

Dulcy travels the West reading stories about her presumed death and eventually settles into a small Montana town where she’s reborn as Mrs. Nash, a wealthy young widow with no burden of family. But her old life won’t let go so easily, and soon her ex-fiancé is on her trail, threatening the new life she is so eager to establish.

 

Jamie Harrison has lived in Montana with her family for almost thirty years. She has worked as a caterer, a writer, and a technical editor for archaeological, botanical, and biological reports. She is also known for her Jules Clement mystery series, including Blue Deer Thaw and The Edge of the Crazies.