When innocent, raven-haired Lauren Holbrook left her home for a promising life in Texas, she found heartbreak, not happiness, forced into a loveless marriage of convenience to playboy-rancher, Jared Lockett. Now a victim of Jared's scheming mother, whose hunger for power and wealth defied the boundaries of human greed, Lauren was unjustly accused of betrayal... threatened by an ambitious investor's savage lust... and rejected in love by her rebellious husband. But nevertheless Lauren's love for Jared grew. She bravely challenged the hate that surrounded Jared's heart, and offered instead a rapturous passion - a shimmering new dream they could share - if only they could conquer the treachery that ruled their lives.