Bestselling author Jude Deveraux spins a rollicking story of the mismatched couple who unearth a dazzling, irresistible passion across the rugged West!

Captain Ring Montgomery was handsome, a skilled rider, a split shot, popular with the men and their women. That was reason enough for the jealous, surly colonel to saddle Montgomery having a most peculiar task: to escort an opera singer into the Colorado gold fields.

Ring’s strategy was to scare the tiny lady enough in order that she’d hightail it for home. In the end, a Civil Battle was brewing! But LaReina, The Performing Duchess-as Maddie was called-didn’t scare very easily. And she didn’t intend to describe her reasons for arriving Western world to any high and mighty soldier. Captain Montgomery may be intelligent enough to determine that she was no Western european duchess, and gentleman more than enough not to benefit from her. But he’d need to go on considering she had some insane wish to sing opera to a couple of ragtag miners-for she didn’t dare trust him with the truth…