Texas. 1921: A time of abundance. Elsa Wolcott meets Rafe Martinelli and changes the direction of her life. Her only choice: marriage to a man she barely knows. 1934: Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. Elsa Martinelli, like so many of her neighbors, must make an agonizing...

The Grey sisters grew up under the disapproving eye of their father, an embittered rancher. But that's never stopped Winona, the oldest, from seeking his approval. Now an attorney, Win knows neither she nor her sister Aurora can compete with Vivi Ann, the youngest, the most beautiful, the most talented--and the one who has taken up the ranching. Win's jealousy cuts deep when veterinarian Lujke Connely falls for Vivi Ann & she accepts his proposal....

When Nora Bridge left her husband and her two daughters 10 years ago, she took the only route she could see, and assumed she still had her daughters' love. Now, though she is distant from her own daughters, Nora is the hostess of a radio advice show, where she advises listeners that "family comes first." When a scandal breaks and Nora hits rock bottom, she finds she has to rely on the two people she has betrayed most deeply: her daughters, Ruby and...

A poignant, evocative story that celebrates the magic of motherhood, the joys of coming home, and the price we so willingly pay for love. 2007-078-01