C. Archer

Christy Huddleston, the new schoolteacher in Cutter Gap, thought her biggest problem was going to be choosing between the charming country doctor, Neil MacNeill, and the handsome minister, David Grantland. But Christy has more serious matters to deal with when her student Ruby Mae Morrison and the mission's runaway black stallion vanish in a furious storm. As Christy desperately searches for Ruby Mae in the cold, blinding rain, she runs headlong into three angry moonshiners bent on revenge against anyone who might try to stop their illegal activities. Can Christy survive this most terrifying test of her faith and courage?

Strange things are happening in Cutter Gap and everybody is convinced that Christy is cursed. After all, who can explain Bob Allen's mysterious accident on his way to bring Christy to Cutter Gap? Or the lightning strike that sent a tree through the school window? Will fear and superstition triumph? Will Christy be driven out of Cutter Gap forever? Or will Christy overcome and win the hearts of the mountain people?

Headstrong and independent, Christy is determined to change the lives of the children in Cutter Gap. Yet it seems that anything new poses a threat to the mountain people, who are proud of their way of life. Evidently Christy has angered someone enough to cause a string of mysterious pranks. The handsome minister fears that the pranks will turn dangerous. Unfortunately, he doesn't realize how right his fears are.

Christy Huddleston's dream was to teach the poor mountain children. In Cutter Gap, she meets the doctor who needs her help to save a life, and the handsome minister who helps her face the challenges of teaching--and loving--the mountain people. But she never imagined that her first journey into the heart of the Smoky Mountains would bring danger into the lives of one mountain family.