Book excerpt: Set against the anarchy of the Civil War, this novel tells the story of the raven-haired beauty Lynora Hollingsworth, daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, an aspiring young artist who spends one wild, enchanting evening in the arms of a stranger, but plans to spend the rest of her life in a marriage that has the approval of her family. However, when her fianc rapes her, she decides to strike out on her own rather than subject herself or the child she has discovered she is carrying to this mans cruelty. Rene Michael DuClaire, gambler and notorious rake, to whom she flees for asylum, is also the handsome stranger to whom she has given her heart. When he surmises her condition and realizes he is the father, he marries her against her will. It is a stormy relationship exacerbated by the onslaught of the Civil War, a conflict over which all characters must make some tough decisions regarding their own comfort and their consciences. There are various subplots in the story. One of them deals with the rejected suitors espionage for the Union army, and reveals his sinister nature in his desire for revenge. Another has to do with an Underground Railroad system in Louisiana, and a third deals with the drama of the Civil War itself on the people it touched in the swampy city of New Orleans and surrounding area. The scenes that relate to the war have been researched and are essentially factual, including the shipyard strike, all battle scenes, and even the explosion of the powder plant in Gretna. The captains, majors, and generals were all real people involved in the war at the places described. Only the lieutenants and privates are fictional.