A dashing sea captain, an indomitable woman, and a deadly mission... After building a fortune in the exotic East, American adventurer and merchant prince Gavin Elliott sets his sails for London to begin a new life. Then fate intervenes on an infamous island in the East Indies where he discovers an Englishwoman facing degradation and peril. Though saving her may cost Gavin his life, he cannot refuse to help the fierce beauty who touches his heart and soul with her unconquerable spirit. Alexandra Warren is returning home from Australia as a widow and mother when a pirate attack condemns her to a life of servitude. A miracle arrives in the form of a steely-eyed Yankee captain whose reckless courage wins them freedom and a safe passage home to London. Intimate strangers joined by too many secrets, they slowly begin to heal the past with attraction and tenderness--until an old enemy reaches out to threaten the passionate love Gavin has found with his irresistible bartered bride. The Bride Trilogy Book 1: The Wild Child Book 2: The China Bride Book 3: The Bartered Bride About the author: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USAToday bestselling author Mary Jo Putney's novels are known for psychological depth and intensity. Winner of numerous writing awards, she has five times had books listed among the Library Journal's top five romances of the year, and three times had books among the top ten romances of Booklist, the magazine of the American Library Association.