The Indigo Heiress

In 1774, 26-year-old Juliet Catesby and her younger sister Loveday assist their father in managing Royal Vale, the plantation founded by their ancestors more than a century before along the James River in Virginia.

Recently widowed, Juliet’s father is concerned about his two daughters’ lack of marriage prospects and fails to share with them the financial woes plaguing their business enterprise.

Juliet is an adept plantation manager. She is consumed by the daily demands of cultivating indigo and ensuring that their trade partnership with the wealthy Buchanan family from Glasgow, Scotland, continues. Juliet has no desire to marry, but she hopes that Loveday, considered the beauty of the family, will soon find a reliable man to wed, not for love, necessarily, but for security and the expectation of children.

Though Juliet thinks she knows the ins and outs of the plantation management, she is shocked to find out that her father has arranged for Leith Buchanan, one of the three wealthy Buchanan brothers from Glasgow, to choose between Loveday and Juliet and select one as his bride, a contractual agreement that will cancel the Catesbys' insurmountable debt.

Juliet’s disbelief at the turn of events intensifies when Leith chooses her to be his wife, instead of Loveday. Brash and confident, Leith is unprepared for Juliet’s fiery spirit and her unwillingness to submit to her father’s wishes, even though she has no idea what refusing to do his bidding will mean for her future.

All circumstances seem to point to a permanent parting between Leith and Juliet. However, one night as Juliet surreptitiously assists enslaved people to freedom, she makes a choice that alters her life, setting her and Loveday on a course to Scotland.

Author Laura Frantz’s riveting romance novel for adults vividly captures the turmoil and uncertainty of the historical period preceding the American Revolution in the colonies and in Britain and Scotland. Richly atmospheric, The Indigo Heiress delves into the trade in humans and products that led to vast wealth for some and excruciating suffering for the enslaved. Complex, well-drawn characters, intrigue, mystery, and numerous plot twists and turns make this book a captivating read. Frantz deftly weaves into the narrative biblical truth contrasting the consequences of evil and the fruit of redemption as God transforms hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (Ez. 36:26). (Revell)