Jessamyn West's spirited novel set in the Ohio Territory in the early 1880s is a handsomely paced adventure for lovers of period romance and suspense. Leafy Rivers is a young bride caught up in emotions she does not altogether understand and cannot quite control. As she races against time to save a life and a marriage that may already be lost, a vivid assortment of characters such as Simon Yanders, a man whose loss has taught him generosity and whose grief has made him alert to joy; Cashie Wade, irresistibly wild and free; and Leafy's husband, Reno, whose love is matched only by his ineptitude offers challenges that threaten to waylay her at every turn."