Englishwoman Edilean Talbot is young, beautiful, wealthy and
privileged. In 1766 Scotland, she should be happy and content with
her lot in life. And she would be if not for the terrible fate
about to befall her --- marriage to one of two men, both of whom
repulse her.

Stuck in the backwoods of Scotland, Edilean is smart enough to
know that her greedy uncle and guardian is all too eager to marry
her off to one of his cronies. In spite of her dearly departed
father's wishes for her to marry a man of her choice, her Uncle
Neville plans to take control of her considerable fortune and marry
her off to a man who is willing to do as he says. Edilean is simply
a convenient means for him to replenish his coffers.

But Edilean has other plans. Not one to be easily thwarted, she
springs into action and formulates a plan for her escape. All she
can think of is joining James, the man she loves in Glasgow and
sailing away to start a new life in America, far from the reach of
her wretched uncle. The only problem is that she must put herself
and her fortunes in the hands of Angus McTern, a man she despises.
Angus is the laird of the clan, which unfortunately is now defunct.
While his people are still together and look to him for leadership,
their lands are no longer their own and they now work for
Englishman Neville Lawler. Ever since Angus's grandfather
carelessly gambled with their heritage and lost, the clansmen have
been under Neville's rule.

While Angus is impressed with Edilean's beauty, her personality
leaves much to be desired in his eyes. When Edilean hires the most
scurrilous member of his clan to assist her, Angus steps in and
helps himself in spite of his better judgment. As we all know,
however, no good deed goes unpunished; in helping Edilean, Angus
seals his own fate.

When things go awry with James, Edilean's beloved, she ropes
Angus into helping her again. Unable to return to his lands and his
clan, Angus sets sail for America posing as Edilean's husband.
During the voyage, the two develop a closeness that neither is
ready to relinquish when they reach America despite their
difference in class. With all the odds against them, will Angus and
Edilean be separated by the circumstances in this new and wild
land, or will they find a way to rise above all that distances them
and find happiness together?

DAYS OF GOLD is an amazingly good read. Angus and Edilean wormed
their way into my heart from the first pages, and their growing
relationship amused and touched me all the way through the book.
There is something about these two characters that make them both
memorable and endearing. With this second installment in her
Edilean series (which began with LAVENDER MORNING), Jude Deveraux
has returned to her roots --- the historical romance. While her
books are a pleasure to read no matter what period they are set in,
DAYS OF GOLD took me back to a time when romance novels were fun
and satisfying, and everyone lived happily ever after.