Carrington Marcs still smells the Colonel's rancid breath. He still feels the resistance that the knife gave when it plunged in deep.

Now he is traveling westbound, away from everything he held dear, without even knowing whether the Colonel is dead. He hopes to one day see Jamison and at the very least beg her forgiveness-but now all he knows is the railroad tracks that stretch far into the horizon.

Jamison, in her quest to wipe away the stigma of her birth, changes her name to Crystal, embodying the strength and fortitude of the shadowy female image she admires in the crystal that Carrington gifted her. Crystal endeavors to remake herself, modeling the enviable quality of sovereign self-possession that dripped from every word and deed of the Countess.

But now that the Countess has departed the château, Crystal is left alone with Jon Roe for the duration of her lengthy recuperation. What Crystal doesn't know is that Jon has a dark secret in his past.

If he encourages Crystal to reinvent herself, will her venture break the carefully constructed life he's made? Following D. K.

Silver's The Weight of Flowers, you can expect defiance, determination, and the desperation that comes from the hardest choices. This story proves that unforgettable flowers are born by Forcing Shoots.

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