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Leigh Banning was married to Will Banning only to have it shattered with his
death 24 hours later. She was ready to return to Washington when a
letter came stating she was the sole heir of John Kolb, her real father. Seems Mr. Kolb was a prospector who left his only child a small parcel of land in Arizona. Rumor had it that he was looking for the lost gold mine in the hills, rumor also had it that he may have found it.
Her mind made up Leigh boards a stage for Arizona and to a new life awaiting her.
She arrives to learn that her father's passing was not an accident but
he was in fact murdered, so Leigh decides to find who was responsible for
the investigation.
After taking the old trunk that her father had left her at the bank, Leigh suddenly realizes that he had left another will in the trunk
-- not only had he left her several pieces of gold but the deed to the lost mine, making her a wealthy woman. A wealthy woman with a mission to find her father's murders and bring them to justice.
At the Fort she meets Major Michael Ryan, who was in charge of native affairs.
She confronts him with the subject of her father's death and wanting him to find those who killed her father. Major Ryan had to admit that she was a stubborn woman but there was something about her that sparked his interest, and she accompanied him to the Apache camp.
Here in the mountains that her father loved so much, Leigh saw what her father fell in love with,
and came to understand his staying here.
I was drawn into the story the moment I started and Leigh is such a strong character I found her search for justice only the beginning of the many facets of this young woman. She finds the beauty of the land and the kindness of the people who her father adopted and chose to stay with truly a part of her life. A life with Michael Ryan as an important figure, that would complete the feeling that she need no longer search for anything anymore.
Reviewed by Louise Riveiro - Mitchell
for The Road to Romance
July 18, 2005
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