It's summer 1880, and potential invest-ment in Leadville's rich silver mines has drawn former president Ulysses S. Grant to this city at the top of the Rockies. But others in his retinue and in town have different agendas. Political aspirations drive young John Quincy Adams Wesley, and itinerant mapmaker Cecil Farnesworth struggles against the seductive call of Leadville's red-light district. As part owner of the Silver Queen Saloon, Inez Stannert has often observed the ruination that comes from yielding to temptation. But that doesn't stop her from striking a deal with upscale brothel madam Frisco Flo, a deal Inez gambles will make her financially independent. But when one of Flo's women is murdered, Inez begins to have second thoughts. Soon Inez finds herself facing demons from her past and fighting to save her reputation and her life. Ann Parker's ancestors include a Leadville blacksmith, a Colorado School of Mines professor, and a gandy dancer. Ann lives and writes near Silicon Valley. www.annparker.net