During the late seventeen hundreds, Tessa O’Donnell’s husband is attacked and killed by thieves as he returns home one evening, drunk, from the local pub in their small Irish village. Tessa, secretly relieved to be rid of her abusive husband, sorts through his meager belongings after the dreary funeral and finds a small, concealed box. Tessa is amazed to discover a boarding ticket and a small amount of cash inside the locked box. Furious, she realizes that her husband had plans to desert her and sail alone on a ship bound for America. Tessa is frightened to leave her familiar surroundings in Ireland but is determined to seek a better life for herself. She bravely uses the ticket and boards the huge ship to journey to America. A fascinating new friend whom Tessa meets aboard ship has an important influence on her life. Upon her arrival in America, a curious twist of fate and a conversation with a ghost draws Tessa deep into a daring adventure. The lonely widow attempts to unravel a series of confusing and puzzling clues in the exciting months following her arrival to search for a hidden legacy, unsure if the discovery will bring her happiness or more heartbreak.
.Sandra, Lily, and Cathy had been the dearest of friends all of their lives. Although separated after high-school graduation, these women maintained a close communication through the years until, forty years later, a strange twist of fate reunited them in a tiny Missouri town. Sandra Johnson was stunned when her husband deserted her after thirty-five years of marriage. Left with no job and no money, she arrives in Missouri searching for a new life. Lily Davies moved to New York after graduation to work as a legal secretary. After a visit to an art gallery, Lily impulsively quit her job, changed her name, and followed her dream to become an artist. Traveling to Missouri to surprise her friends, the surprise is on her when she loses her heart to a jovial innkeeper in the small town. Cathy Roberts, a bitter divorcee who had no desire for any man in her life, had built a home and opened a business in this same town. She gladly welcomed the arrival of Sandra and Lily to her hometown, happy to see her friends again after so many years. She bragged that she preferred her independent, single lifestyle until the day a handsome cardiologist made her heart beat faster and made her wonder if she should give love a second chance. Share the experiences of three women who will always be the Dearest of Friends.
Martha Winslow is left on her own when Harry, her husband of nearly forty years, dies of a massive coronary. Martha, grief stricken, has no choice but to sell her home and many treasured possessions to survive. Cathy Roberts, a dear friend and Martha’s roommate from college, invites her to visit at her home in Crystal Lake, Missouri, to recuperate and build a new life. Martha is innocent and trusting—the result of living a sheltered and protected life. Grateful for a handsome stranger’s kindness along the highway when she desperately needs help, Martha becomes the unwitting victim of a charming con-man as she travels alone—discovering too late that not all men can be trusted.
