Annie Lash

Orphaned and living alone in the older part of St. Louis, Annie Lash has no shortage of admirers, though most of them are well past their prime. She turns them all away, certain that a marriage without real affection would be a hollow one. When Jefferson Merrick, a young frontiersman, invites her to build a life with him in a remote settlement, she agrees, picturing a home on the broad Missouri River.

The journey brings dangers she never imagined. Hostile native groups, river outlaws, and enemies of Jefferson's political standing all threaten the couple. Yet the greatest peril may lie within Annie herself, as her feelings for the self-reliant man who is determined to master the untamed land around them begin to shift.