Magnolia Plantation was the magnificent white-pillared mansion that rested hauntingly on a hill overlooking the Mississippi River. No other estate in Natchez was equal, with its majestic verandas, terraced gardens and surrounding forest of magnolia trees. Raven-haired, violet-eyed Tabitha Clay lived in the shabbiest section of Natchez, but she believed with all her heart that she was destined for the house on the hill. With her enchanting beauty and keen ambition, she soon bewitched and wed Magnolia's darkly handsome master, Nicholas Enright.

Tabitha was sure she had everything she could ever need--until she met Michael Long, a physician whose mere glance made her shiver with desire. And amid the sweetly-scented gardens and the elegantly-furnished rooms, Tabitha learned she still didn't have what she wanted...