Lexy Culhane follows in stunned silence as her father bundles her younger brothers onto the train in a midnight flight away from the only life they have ever known. It seems impossible to her that her gentle, loving mother could have shot a man.
Despite the shock, Lexy soon grows to love her new home at Wild Swan, the grand horse farm in Maryland run by her formidable grandmother, Alexandria Falconer. It is from Alex that Lexy has inherited her fiery and rebellious spirit, and which eventually leads her headlong into a career as a crusading reporter.
When Lexy meets enigmatic fellow reporter Hawk MacKenna, she feels she has finally found her soulmate. But Hawk's life is shadowed by a mistake from his youth, and still haunted by her mother's actions, Lexy struggles to trust him. When her relentless curiosity about his hidden past comes between them, Hawk leaves for the battlefields in the West and Lexy accepts an invitation from distant relations in England. But when she is offered a chance to stay, she faces a test-can she choose between building a new life in this foreign land, or returning to face the pain, and the love, that she left behind?
Contains mature themes.
Wild Swan, the horse farm Alexandria Falconer built up from nothing in the border state of Maryland, has been Alex's sanctuary through years of turmoil, and she has come of age in this land of opportunity. But the storm clouds of civil war are gathering, and Alex knows she has a choice to make to protect her family and maintain the precarious peace at Wild Swan.
When Alex's son dies tragically, she is shattered. It is only through caring for her adopted daughter, two-year-old Gincie, that Alex starts to overcome her grief and find comfort with her beloved husband Rane once more. But when Rane is called away to aid the Union war effort, she is left bereft.
Alex's heart is with Rane, but at home she has the sole responsibility of shielding Gincie and the rest of her family from the danger creeping ever closer to their door. When a charming soldier arrives at Wild Swan, Alex reluctantly gives him shelter, but the two form a bond and when news arrives of Gettysburg, she is torn with worry for men on both sides of the battlefield. With Gincie by her side, she undertakes a dangerous journey to fight for her family, her principles, and the man who holds her heart.
Contains mature themes.
Banished from her uncaring family home for her growing friendship with older neighbor St. John, Alexandria Thaine is unprepared for the new life she encounters with her distant cousins in England's West Country. She blossoms under the warmth of the Falconers, and as she throws herself into the thrilling danger of the family's smuggling trade, Alex forms an unbreakable bond with the eldest son, Rane.
But just as Alex begins to imagine a future in Devon with Rane at her side, the death of her older sister forces her back home to care for her sister's motherless twins. Still yearning for Rane, Alex grows to love the helpless babies, and as she rekindles her friendship with St. John, she finds herself caught between her heart and her home.
When the opportunity comes to start anew in Maryland's lush horse country, Alex faces the agonizing choice between the life she dreamed of and the promise of the new world. But starting over in a golden land on the brink of war brings unforeseen dangers to her door, and when Alex's new family is threatened, can she find the strength to risk her happiness today for the wild hope of a brighter tomorrow?
Contains mature themes.