Wonderfully written, it had me crying as I read several parts. Complicated characters.
New Yorks most wealthy bachelor ... and his wife.... or was she his widow...or is he even married or even dead...???
When artic explorer Noel Magnus, searching for the missing Franklin expedition, kept putting off marriage to Rachel Howland, the only white woman in the frozen north, she took the cursed black opal he wanted and fled to Noel's home in New York, posing as his widow. Along the way, she acquires two homeless children who are also seen as Noel's children. When Noel arrives in New York, he vows to make Rachel's life hell. In addition, Rachel is being threatened by Noel's sworn enemy and competitor, Edmund Hoar.
