Spoiled. Headstrong. Pregnant. Desperate to avoid marriage, NELL LILLINGTON refuses to divulge the name of her child's father and accepts her stepfather's decision that the baby be born at a Poor Farm and discreetly adopted. Until an unused padded cell is opened and two small bodies fall out. MARTIN RUTHERFORD, Nell's childhood friend, is the only one she can turn to, but he has his own plans-he wishes to build a grand department store in Chicago and become one of that growing city's merchant princes. Nell and Martin's fates are steered off course by the secrets and lies of other people in this three-novel story. Will Nell leave everything to start a new life in Chicago?

Mode of access: World Wide Web