"Wonderfully touching!"

In the final days of the Civil War, weary Union soldiers are heading home after being released from Confederate prisons. One such soldier is Gabe Davis who journeys north aboard the Sultana on his way home to Ohio. He dreams of moving to Oregon where he can forget the horrific memories of the prisons and the accusations of desertion that have left him feeling unworthy. These feelings of unworthiness don't stop him however from coming to the rescue of a beautiful Southern lady being accosted by rowdy soldiers.

Yvette Augeron has her own reasons for boarding the Sultana. Accused of murder she is trying to get to St. Louis to her uncle in the hopes he can help prove her innocence. Unfortunately, the true killer, a Union soldier who also killed her sister, follows her on board the Sultana with the intent of killing her also.

As Gabe and Yvette find friendship and acceptance from each other, their world explodes when the Sultana's boiler explodes, plunging them both into the freezing water and fighting for their lives. Can love blossom in a hell of fire and ice?

Wonderfully touching! This historical brings to life the true and tragic sinking of the Sultana soon after Lincoln's death. With vivid descriptions the reader is swept along and feels a part of the story, even the tragic drowning of a kitten. Ms Atlee once again delivers a winner with fantastic characters and a dazzling plot that made it impossible to put down and also hard to forget days after reading it. A book I highly recommend.

Reviewed by Maureen Boylan
Posted December 6, 2001