This novel is a love story. Trust and respect are essential ingredients for love to exist and continue. Secrets destroy trust and a secret kept by Elizabeth Mitchell until her death [its nature still not uncommon in the 21st century] nearly destroyed one family [Doherty] and severely impacted on two others [Lachlan and Redman]. Matthew Redman was the son of a Texas cattle rancher. Siobhan and Miriam were the daughters of Frank Doherty, the owner of the adjoining ranch. From childhood Siobhan and Matthew fought and argued, were usually at the heart of all trouble and mischief on the ranches and were best friends. Matthew Redman moved east, obtained degrees in law and engineering. Meanwhile there was disaster in Texas when the Mitchell secret was found out by Siobhan causing daughter to turn against mother and father and sister against sister. Siobhan left home damning her parents and commenced a new career of robbery, being a confidence trickster and counterfeiter, having multiple lovers yet sometime teaching in a convent school and continuing to confide in Matthew who had become a member of an elite group of US law enforcement officers called simply "Rangers". This led to Matthew pursuing Siobhan due to her illegal activities and when finally they faced one another she dared him to stop her escaping by shooting her in the back. His failure to do so left his integrity as a Ranger in tatters. Having deciding to resign his last investigation led to a savage encounter in Tregear when Siobhan saved his life. This event hit them like a sledgehammer as they finally became aware what they always had known but had never admitted the fact of their love for each other. Reconciliation and a surprise wedding followed and led to the search for Siobhan's formerly unknown family in Carlisle in Northern England.