Book excerpt: A vulnerable moment breaks down barriers, turning enemies into allies... and maybe even something more. Margaret Hale is broken with grief. Still mourning her mother's death, she is also weighed down by fear for her brother Frederick, who is living in exile, and her father's unstable health. But topping all her concerns is handsome mill owner John Thornton, whose rash marriage proposal she had rejected before even considering. Not that there is any point in thinking of him now. He wouldn't have anything to do with her, even if she were the last woman in the world. John Thornton is a man of heavy responsibilities who has many things on his mind. His business has suffered one setback after another, and everyone is counting on him to make things right. But the most troublesome of all his problems is Margaret Hale. She wants nothing to do with him, and he wishes he could feel the same. But a chance encounter when he is most in need of a friend might just shatter the misunderstandings that have kept them apart. Is something so simple as friendship even possible after all that has passed between them? When John is offered a chance to save his mill, at the cost of his growing friendship with Margaret, will he act according to duty? Or will he take a chance on love?