Christy Award finalist Deeanne Gist pens a compelling bestseller that portrays Rachel Van Buren's efforts to escape the gold-rush quagmire of 1849 San Francisco with her high moral principles intact. Rachel is shocked with this mud-infested boomtown where the only females are of ill repute. When saloon owner Johnnie Parker-widower and former missionary-lets her stay in his unoccupied shanty, she agrees to cook and clean. But Rachel soon struggles with their growing attraction. "Gist's Western romance features lively dialog and . humor."-Library Journal