The Web of Deception — Ruth McCarthy Sears

Paris was all that Licia Gage had dreamed it would be. The pretty, blue-eyed governess was staying with the Rosson and their two young children at the Hotel Capri, an elegant island amidst the swirl of bustling crowds and bright foliage that is Paris in the fall. But little did Licia know, upon her arrival in the City of Light, that a dark curtain would soon fall around her and her two charges, and that she would become a pawn in a game of international intrigue.

Events began in as sunny and open a way was Howdy Holmwood's hello. After a chance meeting with the redheaded fellow American, Licia agreed to a day of sightseeing together. But Howdy's kiss at that happy day's end marked the beginning of a long nightmare for Licia. The Rossons and their children had disappeared without a trace, and Licia was left on her own, penniless and with nor more than the clothes on her back, in a strange city far from the familiarities of home.

Discovering that Howdy was unknown at the address he had given her increased Licia's panic, especially when she realized that she was being followed by furtive strangers. So when tall, dark-haired Judson Roche--engaged to a wealthy relative of the Rossons--rescued her from one of her pursurers, Licia placed her trust in him--only to find herself being inexorably drawn into a web of deception from whose intricate, deadly mazes there was no escape.