Grand Deception — Parley J. Cooper

From the ruins of the great earthquake of San Francisco, one woman builds a new life on the foundation of a GRAND DECEPTION.

In reckless passion, Maria Esabelle Mata flees the tyranny of her noble Mexican family. But with escape she loses everything: her wealth, her position, her honor. And her new life in San Francisco is not a glittering dream of freedom, but the harsh reality of poverty and degradation.

But when the great earthquake nearly destroys the city, Maria buries her past in the rubble and assumes a new identity -- as a Spanish countess. Soon she is dancing at the gaslit galas on Nob Hill, mingling with the nouveau riche of the American West, and finding love and respectability in the arms of a wealthy banker. But her new-found happiness is as fragile as the city she has conquered. At any moment it all could be swept away to reveal her...GRAND DECEPTION.