Elizabeth Adler skillfully blends taut suspense with breathtaking romance in the tale of a man whose long-kept secrets slowly unravel to rock a woman's world. As millionaire Ed Vincent climbs out of his small Cessna, someone stops him with a bullet. Lying comatose in the hospital, he can hear the doctors talking but he can't reply. He knows who is behind the attempted assassination. But there's no way to tell anyone -- or warn the woman he calls Zelda. Zelda's real name is Melba Eloise Merrydew -- Mel. Mel and Ed haven't known each other long, just long enough to become lovers, and she never doubts he is everything he says he is. Yet she is about to find out how wrong she is. And New York homicide detective Marco Camelia, a family man mesmerized by Mel's southern charm, intends to be right there when she finds out. Not just to solve the case, but hoping she'll wind up in his arms. Mel is about to come face-to-face with a chilling truth: about a hidden past, a bitter enemy, and her own vulnerability. With shocking plot twists and complex characterizations, this gripping novel will hold readers in thrall -- and Adler keeps the surprises coming, right to the final heartbeat.