Book excerpt: A beautiful daughter of privilege comes home to a Mexico on the cusp of revolution in this enthralling tale of romance and adventure. Miranda Greenleaf was a little girl when her father, a wealthy mine owner, sent her to his native England to receive a “proper” education. Now seventeen years old, she returns to Sonora two years after her father’s death in a mining accident to attend to her dying Mexican mother. Her new guardian and half-sister, Reina, receives Miranda with hostility and jealous suspicion. When Miranda rescues an Indian girl orphaned and maimed by federal troops, Trace Winslade, Reina’s Texan bodyguard, disobeys his orders and rides through the night to help save Sewa’s life. To escape Reina’s vengeful wrath, Miranda leaves her rightful home and falls into the hands of Court Sanders, a Yankee mine operator known for always getting what he lusts after, be it gold or women. The situation turns from bad to worse when Miranda manages to get away from Sanders but is kidnapped by a band of guerillas who intend to ransom her for rifles. On what might be the last night of her life, surrounded by men who will kill her at dawn if the ransom is not paid, Miranda prays that she might see Trace once more before dying. Brimming with passion, intrigue, and fascinating historical detail, A Lady Bought with Rifles is a stunning achievement from an award-winning, New York Times–bestselling author with “a clear-voiced style that transcends genre” (The Kansas City Star).