Prairie Song

Set against the backdrop of the Great Land Run of 1889, this captivating historical love story grapples with themes of feminine empowerment, family duty and personal morality. While working as a maid for the wealthy New York Talmidge family, Kate Chandler finds that her uncanny resemblance to the patriarch's barren wife casts her as the pawn in the Talmadges' scheme to have an heir. Edgar Talmidge rapes the young servant and holds her captive, but Kate, pregnant and penniless, escapes to Oklahoma to seek anonymity and a new life for herself and her child. But the heroine's dreams are thwarted by the rules of the Run: to stake a claim, one must be either 21 years old or married. Determined to survive, she agrees to care for three orphaned children who had been left to a widely feared hired gun, Cole Youngblood. In exchange, the gunslinger will secure a choice plot of land for Kate. What Cole doesn't know is that his new bride is the runaway maid he's under contract to destroy. His new, makeshift clan brings him unexpected contentment, and a showdown with the evil Talmidges proves he's a changed man, newly devoted to love and family. Porter (Captive Angel) sets up a potent irony by delivering her heroine into the keeping of her assigned killer. At times, the story stalls with too much character introspection, and a few plot points are bit too coincidental, yet the narrative zings along with high drama toward a heartwarming denouement. (May)