Verbena Barnes and Damon Thern may have lived in the same village, but the lines between their two families are harshly enforced. Once, six years before, Damon's older brother Andrew had dared to marry across those lines-to Verbena's older sister Edeline. The Barnes have since fallen on hard times. Then Andrew dies, leaving Edeline in a world that no longer has any use for her. She confides her troubles to Verbena, and one of...