Left bankrupt after her billionaire father's sudden death, Alexandra Haywood returns to Shelby County, Kentucky--that bit of Southern splendor known as Paradise County--to sell the family's magnificent horse farm. Part of her mission is to fire Joe Welch, the sexy, stubborn farm manager who worked hard for the Haywoods while raising his children. But Joe refuses to be fired, and he and Alex clash. They also fall for each other--hard. Just as their attraction flares, a shocking murder with ties to the past rocks the county--and cuts close to home when Joe's teenage son, Eli, and Alex's wild-spirited younger sister, Neely, vanish. Now, the evil that lurks beneath Paradise County raises its gruesome head--and Alex is targeted as the next victim.