I recently read this book for a second time after many years. I had forgotten how charming the story was. The characters, Dane and Helen, half Native-American, meet when Helen is young and innocent, and Dane, who works for the Fish and Wildlife Service, comes to the Northwest to visit his uncle. He is also there as a federal fisheries officer working undercover on a poaching investigation. His target is Helen's brother Waldo. The attraction between Helen and Dane is immediate and beautiful, but their love is bittersweet in its brevity. Dane's testimony puts Waldo and others from Helen's village in federal prison. Helen refuses to see Dane again, and he, knowing he has deceived her, leaves defeated. The two remain separated for twenty years until Dane returns to his ailing uncle's home and surprises Helen with a visit, not knowing what to expect but hoping she will forgive him. We feel the pain and longing of each as they struggle with the past and the unhappy lives they've each lived while apart. Although it is clear the love they knew years before is still there, Helen finds forgiveness almost impossible and refuses to share the secret she's hidden from Dane. This is a story for anyone who has loved someone and disappointed them; a story of betrayal and redemption. This is a story for anyone who has ever been in love. I will probably read it again. ( )