"A first rate, beautifully moving novel."-- Harriet Klausner, Affaire de Coeur LaRisa Chee is torn from her father's side when her tribe, the Chiricahua Apache, are taken and imprisoned in Florida. While her family and loved ones battle disease, starvation, and abominable conditions, she is sent to suffer the Carlisle Indian School, an institution run by the very people who destroyed her beloved family. But when a handsome stranger arrives, claiming to be sent by her father, LaRisa realizes he may be her only chance to escape the same fate of her people. Spencer Colton has dedicated his life to helping the Apaches, so when betrothal to the beautiful and stubborn LaRisa Chee will save her life, he agrees to marry her. But his promise to grant her freedom once they reach safety becomes one he doesn't know he'll keep as LaRisa's hardened heart begins to thaw beneath the blazing heat of passion.