Eddy strikes out on her own to California in the hopes of opening a restaurant. With some money in her pocket and her trusty cook stove Eddy is fortunate in the kindness of strangers, until she isn't.

Left for dead in the deserts of Texas by a con-man masquerading as a priest, she is rescued by the handsome Rhine Fontaine. Eddy, a black woman, is bewildered by Rhine's obvious attraction. Rhine is an rich, white man who is also politically powerful in the small Texas town she ends up in.

But, Rhine has a secret. Rhine is the bastard son of a slave woman and a rapist plantation owner, and he has been passing as a white man ever since deserting the Confederate Army and joining the Union Army with his half-brother. Rhine never wants to return to his slave roots, but Eddy may just be worth leaving his lie behind, consequences be damned.

My favorite parts of Beverly Jenkins novels are the historic details. The Old West trilogy is perfect for people who loved reading every little description of food, clothing, and life in books like Little House on the Prairie, but are looking for a less white-washed, problematic vision of that time.

I have to say, this book gave me a lot of feels, because I was so worried about the consequences of Rhine revealing his secret. These two deserve their HEA, and I just hope that damn town gives it to them.