Kara Galway thought moving home to Texas after years in New England would put her life back in perspective. An up-and-coming defense attorney, she intends to concentrate on her career and on spending time with her Texas Ranger brother Jack, and his wife, Susanna. But fate has something else in store. First, Kara's good friend and mentor, Connecticut governor Mike Parisi, dies under suspicious circumstances. Then the children of the new governor , Kara's best friend, Allyson Stockwell, show up unannounced at Kara's home in Austin. It's clear the children are scared out of their wits-and hiding something. Something connected to their mother's new role as governor and to Mike's death. And then there's Sam Temple, the Texas Ranger she can't believe she's fallen in love with.