Book excerpt: Catherine never anticipates that her marriage to Jonah Dusant would be a death blow to the Dusant business empire. Amid the heat of a brewing war between 19th-century Germany and France, her union with the powerful family exposes deadly secrets. From the high court of France to the pristine shores of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Blood and Parcels crosses five generations and spans a continent to tell the story of the inescapable bonds of family and ancestral duty. It weaves a riveting tale of love, lust, daunting loss, difficult decisions, betrayal and murder.