Ariana loves her life as a schoolteacher in a little frontier town. But one evening after classes are done and she prepares to hurry home, her life changes in an instant when a band of rough outlaws abduct her and take her far away from all she has ever known.

Trapped in a small shack, Ariana prays and waits, her emotions swinging between terror and boredom as days stretch into weeks. Still, the outlaws refuse to tell her why they've taken her or what they plan to do.

Then the boss's son appears in the doorway of her cabin. He seems different from the others, but can she trust him? Will she ever again see her mother and father, the couple who lovingly adopted her and raised her as their own? Will she ever wear the beautiful wedding dress so carefully saved for her--her one remaining link to her birth parents?

From Booklist

Using a plot that owes much to Zane Grey, who himself owed a great deal to Walter Scott, Oke places a young schoolmarm, Ariana Benson, in harm's way and then joins her with the man she loves. Ariana is kidnapped and held for ransom by a band of outlaws--turns out though, that the boss' son, Laramie Lawrence, has a conscience and even an incipient faith. He steals Ariana from the outlaws, and on a long trek to Montana, the two fall in love. Laramie becomes a Christian, but a missing cuff on Ariana's inherited wedding gown shows up in Laramie's long-dead mother's trunk, linking the two as brother and sister, separated years before when Indians massacred their parents. Tough break, but further research reveals that they are not related, and so the marriage can proceed. Oke is the grande dame of Christian fiction, and her latest is likely to join The Bluebird and the Sparrow , her previous work, on the evangelical Christian best-seller list. John Mort

About the Author

JANETTE OKE is the beloved, bestselling author of more than sixty books. Her writing has earned her the Christy Award for excellence in Christian Fiction, a number of Gold Medallion Awards, and two honorary awards for her significant contribution to the Christian book industry. Janette and her husband, Edward, live in Calgary, Alberta. For more information visit janetteoke.com.