The discovery of a cache of letters, photos, and jewels in an abandoned safe deposit box brings together several unlikely people who investigate the mysterious disappearance of a beautiful young countess seventy-five years earlier.

"When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations,...

"The charges: explosive. Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law -- until now. Charged with gunning down followers of his nemesis Gary Soneji in cold blood, Cross is being turned into the poster child for trigger-happy cops who think they're above the law. Cross knows it was self-defense. But will a jury see it that way? The evidence: shocking. As Cross fights for his professional life and his freedom, his former partner John Sampson...

The college-educated daughter of a wealthy and respected gentleman farmer falls for the groundskeeper of her family's estate.