Lord of the River — Charlotte Payne

THERE WERE FORTUNES TO BE MADE--HEARTS TO BE WON--IN THE LUSTY PROMISE OF NEW ORLEANS

When John McDonogh set sail from Baltimore in 1810, he carried with him the burden of guilt for his own brother's tragic death. But in Louisiana's teeming port city, he soon found wealth and notoriety as the shipper of contraband for the dangerous pirates of Barataria. Then he met lovely Creole beauty Antoinette de Bonnecase, and in an instant of dazzling recognition, a lifelong passion was ignited. But marriage between a dashing American buccaneer and a sheltered French aristocrat was forbidden, and soon their lives were filled with the stolen moments of a darkly secret love -- for not even the sacred marriage contract that bound Antoinette to another could keep them from fulfilling their passionate dream.