Book excerpt: Augusta Travers has spent the last three years avoiding the stifling expectations of New York society and her family's constant disappointment. As the nation's most fearless--and reviled--columnist, Gussie travels the country with her Kodak camera and spins stories for women unable to leave hearth and home. But when her adventurous nature lands her in the middle of a scandal, an opportunity to leave America offers the perfect escape. Arriving in India, she expects only a nice visit with childhood friends, siblings Catherine and Gabriel, and escapades that will further her career. Instead, she finds herself facing a plague epidemic, confusion over Gabriel's sudden appeal, and the realization that what she wants from life is changing. But slowing down means facing all the hurts of her past that she's long been trying to outrun. And that may be an undertaking too great even for her. Praise for Kimberly Duffy: "Duffy shines in elegant, flowing prose and delicate precision that underscores the nineteenth-century setting."--BOOKLIST starred review "An author to watch."--LIBRARY JOURNAL "Duffy's writing is beautiful, deep, and contemplative."--JOCELYN GREEN, Christy Award-winning author of Shadows of the White City "Duffy [has a] capable pen and inimitable passion for portraying India."--RACHEL MCMILLAN, author of The London Restoration and The Mozart Code