In 1850 Charleston, South Carolina, brutality and cruelty simmer just under the genteel surface of Southern society. Beautiful and headstrong Willow Hendricks lives in an era where ladies are considered nothing more than property. Her father rules her life, filling it with turmoil, secrets, and lies. She finds a kindred spirit in spunky, outspoken Whitney Barry, a northerner from Boston. Together these Charleston belles are driven to take control of their own lives as they are plunged into fear and chaos on their quest to fight for the rights of slaves. Against all odds, these feisty women fight to secure freedom and equality for those made powerless and persecuted by a supposedly superior race. Only when they've lost it all do they find a new beginning. Book 1 presents Willow and Whitney--and the reader--with the hardships the slaves endure at the hands of their white masters. Reading Order for Series: Novels: A Slave of the Shadows : Book One A Guardian of Slaves : Book Two Novellas: The Black Knight's Tune : Novella One The Master of Ships : Novella Two The Promise Between Us : Novella Three The Fair Magnolia : Novella Four Novel: A Whisper of War : Book Three For Home and Country: Book Four Novels can be read alone or with the novella series. The author's shorter works are best read in the suggested order.