New York Times bestselling author Joan Johnston has captivated millions of readers with her sprawling, sensuous novels about the two opposing dynasties of Bitter Creek, Texas -- the Blackthornes and the Creeds. Now in her highly anticipated hardcover debut, Johnston tells an impassioned story of love and danger, ambition and family, that features the popular character Luke Creed, a young man who has turned his back on his family's ranch to pursue his fortune as an attorney at Houston's most powerful law firm. Even though the stress and the punishing hours of his job as a litigation associate at DeWitt & Blackthorne have cost him his marriage and quality time with his two young daughters, Luke Creed remains fiercely driven to succeed. When Luke takes on the defense of a pharmaceutical company in an explosive wrongful death suit that could make or break his career, he is surprised to find himself squared off against the woman he has always loved, Amy Hazeltine Nash, his high school sweetheart.