Abby Whitaker knew the true meaning of grief and loneliness. Young, poor, and tragically widowed, she had little hope of finding happiness until a surprising letter arrived - and changed her life. Her uncle, the black sheep of the family and a seeker of gold in Alaska, had died: if a family member did not arrive in remote Juneau within a month, the house would be sold. Abby knew that Alaska was a land bursting with opportunities. How perfect a place to start life over - the land of the midnight sun! But once the perilous sea journey was behind her and she set foot in the strange, icebound frontier settlement, Abigail learned that her uncle had left huge gambling debts and that his death had not been an accident. His house was eerie and hollow and icy cold and the tall gold miner who offered to cut firewood for her stared at her most strangely. His piercing eyes - pools of dark mystery - drew her into their depths and made her heart race with fire even as icy fingers of fear crept up her spine. Abigail tried to ignore her sense of foreboding. She tried to ignore the creaking stairs, the lantern mysteriously lit, the cryptic warning against the very man who had begun to claim her heart....