Entering the backwoods cabin, knowing it belonged to a man, required all the courage LeeAnne Blake could muster. But what choice did she have? The road, to that point, had been completely deserted. And she was half-frozen after walking at least two miles since her car had died on her, and then flailing through the drifts between the road and the cabin.

After 12 years of virtual isolation, the last thing Matthew McBain expected to find in his cabin was a woman. And her story - that she got lost and ran out of gas - was entirely implausible. No one could accidentally turn onto a logging road. But then, he grudgingly admitted, the signage at that corner could confuse someone from out of the area - especially someone from Chicago.