Book excerpt: After finally being declared innocent of Richard Adamss murder, Mary Benedict Austin is happy. But her happiness is short lived. What she doesnt know is that her world is about to be turned upside down once again. Mary Benedict Austin is kidnapped by her husband Mandos mortal enemy, a Shoshone Indian named Kajika. Mary is pregnant, but her kidnapper doesnt know it. After she has been with him for five months, he realizes that she is pregnant. That is where the lies to save herself, her unborn baby, and her family in Albany begin. She convinces Kajika that the baby she is carrying is his and she tells him that she loves him and will never leave him. Kajika believes her because he is in love with her. Kajika is injured by a protruding stick on a log. His injury allows Mary to escape her bonds of slavery and return to her husband and family. Almost a year after her escape, Kajika comes back into her life. He arrives in Albany bent on revenge against Mary, who he believes not only stole his heart but also his child. His way of getting revenge is to kill Mando, Marys other children, burn down the town, and leave Mary gravely wounded as she watches him ride away with his child.