A FAMILY... The Whitmore name in Austin, Texas, meant wealth, power, and ruthlessness. Run by patriarch Fletcher Whitmore, the family commanded respect--and fear. Then eldest son and senatorial candidate Phillip Whitmore was killed was shot and killed. His family called it a tragic accident. His young wife suspected it was murder...

A WOMAN... Natalie had been an orphan when the Whitmores took her in. She wasn't supposed to marry their darling Phillip. Now she was scared. Fletcher Whitmore wanted to take away her baby