A Cry at Midnight

Randi Galloway works at a museum as a cleaner until she hears the distinct sound of a baby's crying--in the middle of the night. She investigates the strange and perfect dollhouse representation of the plantation-house that used to be on the spot where the museum now stands--and finds herself plunged into the past. Before the American Civil War, plantations still wrest cotton from the bottom-lands along the Mississippi by the sweat and blood of their slaves. She's holding a baby in her arms, a baby that history says would be washed away and lost in the great flood of 1849.

Jackson Durant has poured his life into the Black Willow Grove plantation. The death of his wife put his dreams for a true dynasty on hold, but he intends to fix that problem, while raising a perfect daughter to take her place in society. He can't believe that Randi Galloway would really threaten his daughter, but still--can he allow a woman who wears tight pants, has hair shorter than a boy, and who simply doesn't know how to be demure become a part of his daughter's life? Especially when her story of where she came from, and how she got into his house, makes no sense at all.

Randi tries to persuade Jackson that a flood is coming, but only convinces him that she is disturbed. Still, she finds herself falling in love with the beautiful baby girl--a girl who fills the emotional spot left empty when she suffered a miscarriage. The gentle love for the girl, though, is nothing compared to the intense desire she feels for the handsome planter. Still, she doesn't belong in this world. Somehow, she must return to the present, to her family, modern medicine, and modern attitudes toward woman and race. But can she leave before doing everything in her power to prevent the disaster she knows is only weeks away?

Author Victoria Chancellor spins an emotionally compelling story of a love that spans the centuries, a modern woman, and a southern 'gentleman' who is not entirely what he appears to be. Chancellor's strong writing hooks the reader and takes us for a sexy and powerful ride.