Pearl in the Mist

Ruby's modest existence in the Louisiana Bayou was taken away by fate. However, her newfound wealth begets more betrayal than joy.

Even after a year as a Dumas, Ruby still wonders at the splendor of the family's New Orleans mansion, and rejoices in the love of the father she had never known. However, contentment in her new residence is as elusive as the mist from the marsh. Ruby's stepmother Daphne, who sneers and cringes at her backwater origins, is a poisonous opponent that she must carefully avoid. Additionally, Ruby encounters hostility and sly backstabbing from Gisselle in response to all of her attempts to become friends, particularly after Gisselle's catastrophic injury.

For her daughter's final year, her father has selected the prestigious girls' boarding school Greenwood, which seems to provide a haven from the manipulative Daphne and maybe even a new beginning with Gisselle. However, Ruby's type is not accepted at Greenwood, and her stepmother and the notoriously severe headmistress Mrs. Ironwood conspire to ruin Ruby's existence. Gisselle, in the meanwhile, is determined to disobey every rule at school, so Ruby must take the painful consequences alone. Ruby, however, never gives up hope until a horrible event abandons her in a world that never really desired her. Ruby has to muster all of her remaining Cajun strength in order to take back her house, her future, and the contentment she once had.

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