A Rare Passion

Linden Bradley is back in her beloved Brazil to help save thousands of animals displaced by a dam going onstream. She meets Cole Dominguez, a rancher in the south whose mother is American but living in Connecticut. Linden's mother is African-American, her father caucasian. Their attraction to one another is instant but each is cautious because of past hurts. For the moment, her work on the rescue takes her away into a world of roaring waters and the vastness of Brazil's interior that submerges all thought. A biologist from upstate New York, she plunges into treating wild animals and even eagles who have nested on the reservoir bed.

When she has recovered from her immense labors, Cole invites her to his ranch, where she meets his father. Linden loves the openness of the southern range. Brazil has so many faces, and Rio de Janeiro is another fascinating one. Carnaval here is like no other celebrated in the world. The costume competitions are prodigious productions, as are the parades. Rio is brash, noisy, musical -- there is nothing like it.