Deep North

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO PROTECT YOUR CHANCE FOR HAPPINESS?

Journalist Brenda Contay seems to have it all: a Pulitzer Prize, plenty of money and lots of friends. Just one thing is missing: a relationship that counts.

That seems about to change when lawyer friend Marion Ross invites Brenda to go fishing in northern Minnesota. But they won't be roughing it: they'll be staying on a big, comfy houseboat. Charlie Schmidt has a cabin nearby, and before long, Brenda is thinking a lot about Charlie's gracefulness and good looks.

But two other men have followed the women. Louis Rohmer knew Marion in college, and has an Internet scheme to steal everything she's worth. Jerry Lomak is much more dangerous: Marion's legal skills destroyed him in court. He's headed for prison, but Lomak has no intention of doing time, or of letting a woman lawyer get away with her "crimes."

It's a beautiful place, northern Minnesota. Cold, clear, unblemished. But none of it will count when Brenda Contay must choose between losing her chance for happiness, or committing a terrible crime.