From Booklist
Fiona Downey left Ireland as a small child, emigrating with her parents to Massachusetts in search of a better life. When her father dies unexpectedly, she eagerly accepts a teacher's position in faraway Paradise Falls, Michigan, seeing it as a new beginning, but soon finds herself in the midst of turmoil. She boards with the Haydns, initially described as one of the finest families in town, but Rose, the mother, is a thoroughly unpleasant, status-conscious busybody who dotes on her younger son, Fleming, a good-for-nothing charmer, and is viciously abusive toward her husband and elder son, Grayson, for reasons that do not become clear until the very end. She berates Fiona for her compassionate and respectful treatment of those Rose feels are undesirables and refuses to sanction the growing relationship between Gray and Fiona while turning a blind eye to Flem's excesses. Langan's historical romance provides a vivid look at the unpleasant realities of life for a single young woman without family protection in class-conscious, rural 1890s America. Lynne Welch
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Book Description
In 1890 Massachusetts, after her father's death, Fiona Downey must leave her college and take a teaching job in a rural area of Michigan.

Now, living with the Haydn family in Paradise Falls, she is drawn into the uneasy dynamic between two brothers--and is torn between her desire and her lifelong hopes.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In 1890 Massachusetts, after her father's death, Fiona Downey must leave her college and take a teaching job in a rural area of Michigan.

Now, living with the Haydn family in Paradise Falls, she is drawn into the uneasy dynamic between two brothers—and is torn between her desire and her lifelong hopes.

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FROM THE CRITICS

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