When the family ghost, the Virgin Bride, warns Alexandra Sherbrooke that her husband is in danger, Douglas takes the prediction with a grain of salt. But when he is shot and wounded and then is warned by the Duke of Wellington himself that someone from his past is bent on revenge, everyone, including twin sons James and Jason, gets into the act. A pair of identical twins worthy of the Sherbrooke legacy (The Bride of Sherbrooke); a plucky, outspoken, but charmingly na ve heroine who leads James on a merry chase; and a plot with more than one unexpected twist result in the kind of lively, sensual, danger-filled adventure that fans of Coulter's historicals have come to expect. The best-selling author of both historical romance and contemporary romantic suspense, Coulter lives in the San Francisco area

Jason Sherbrooke longs to breed and race his own horses, but it's a spirited woman who will claim his heart

Dear Reader: When Ryder Sherbrooke finds a child nearly beaten to death in an alley in Eastbourne, he takes her home to Brandon House. She doesn't speak for six months. Her first words, oddly enough, are a haunting song: I dream of beauty and sightless night I dream of strength and fevered might I dream I'm not alone again But I know of his death and her grievous sin. Ah, and just what does this strange song mean that was seemingly imprinted on the child's brain? She names herself Rosalind de la Fontaine since she cannot remember who she is. In her first season in London in 1835, under the aegis of the Sherbrookes, she meets Nicholas Vail, the 7th Earl of Mountjoy, newly arrived from Macau. It is instant fascination on both their parts, but for different reasons. With Grayson Sherbrooke, they are led to an ancient copy of a mysterious book written by a sixteenth-century wizard. The book is written in a baffling code that neither Grayson nor Nicholas can read. But Rosalind can, easily. Strange things start happening. Both Nicholas and Rosalind know it has to do with the old book and, perhaps, even her past, particularly the song she first sang as a child. The urgency builds as they realize Rosalind is the key to a centuries-old mystery. Enjoy, Catherine Coulter