Gold fever grips Florence, Idaho, in 1867. Another great gold rush and people have come from all over the world; ruthless men, scheming women and people on the run. Against this backdrop, Sun Lee Chaikov fights to save her home and her life, when her Russian-born father disappears and one of those ruthless men claims their property and her. She struggles to protect herself, her Chinese grandmother and an orphaned toddler she's taken in. Captain Noah Stewart comes to Florence to find his sister and to face down his father and his past. A runaway in his youth, he's roamed the world for the past ten years as a sea captain. He arrives to find his sister dead and her boy being cared for by Sun Lee, a feisty almond-eyed beauty, who is in great danger, but who "doesn't need any help, thank you very much." He's drawn to her and into a world of intrigue as they struggle to find out who killed his sister and what happened to her father. Their instant attraction ignites into wanton passion, pulling them together when logic threatens to tear them apart. As they search for answers, they discover a secret society, a past war, and an undercover trade more precious than gold. Noah must make his peace with his past and Sun Lee must learn to trust someone other than herself in order to claim this overwhelming love as they move in the Shadow of the Dragon.