And One Rode West

The third volume in Graham's ( And One Wore Gray , which has 635,000 copies in print) saga of the Cameron clan focuses on sister Christa in post-Civil War Virginia. Desperately attempting to save her family home from Northerners exploiting their victory, Christa convinces Yankee Colonel Jeremy McCauley, her sister-in-law's brother, to marry her. When McCauley is posted West with the cavalry, Christa joins him, managing to continue to smell of roses even as she confronts tarantulas, buffalo stampedes and capture by Comanches. Her Southern pride battles her lust for the handsome Northerner she has married. Indeed, lust seems to be all that holds this couple together. Rough verbal and physical treatment of Christa seems de rigueur for Jeremy--unable to decide from moment to moment whether to display his passion via anger or seduction. Writes Christa in her journal: ``He is fascinating to me, and I am compelled by him nearly as much as I am infuriated.'' The action unfolds fairly predictably until an 11th-hour twist makes this tale a bit more exciting and its ending less certain. (Nov.)