Grasslands

From the #1 bestselling author of Finding Flora comes another gripping historical novel set in the spectacular Western Canadian wilderness, perfect for fans of Yellowstone and Lonesome Dove.

English sisters Verity and Charity Tait are orphaned when their parents die of smallpox. Verity finds work as a photo retoucher and struggles to raise her impulsive younger sister, but in 1890 Charity elopes with a Methodist missionary bound for the North-West Territories (now Saskatchewan and Alberta). When Verity learns that the husband is dead and her sister has disappeared, she leaves London and sets out to find her.

Travelling across Canada on the train, she meets a wealthy British gentleman who invites her to reside at his cattle ranch near Maple Creek while she conducts her search. She places an advertisement in the local newspaper and follows every lead in vain. Yet in the midst of her mounting anxiety, Verity is struck with the splendor of the prairies and her newfound freedom from social convention. She finds herself drawn to the excitement and romance of ranch life—and to one rugged cowboy in particular.

When two young women are found strangled, a prostitute in Medicine Hat and an unidentified female on the banks of the Whitemud River, Verity’s search takes on a greater urgency. Both murders bear the hallmarks of an earlier crime in Montreal, pointing to a serial killer. Was Charity one of his victims—and could Verity be next?