Had it been a mistake to come? Vanessa wondered about it. On the island of New Caledonia she'd joyfully found the father she'd not seen for sixteen years, though his death so soon after was traumatic. But it was her liaison with Raoul DuTemple, a wealthy Frenchman, a virtual stranger who had been her father's archenemy, that had changed things. Against her better judgment, against all her values, she'd allowed herself to be drawn into a passionate but loveless affair. Now, whether she stayed on the island or returned home, Vanessa knew that her life would never be the same.