Growing up in a beautiful old french chateau, Marie-Ange has the kind of childhood that most people dream of. A tragic accident when she is eleven leaves her an orphan, ends her idyllic life, and sends her to live with her great-aunt on a farm in Iowa. The work is endless and she dreams of the day she can return to her beloved chateau. Then, just after her twenty-first birthday, she learns she is a wealthy heiress. Returning to France, she falls in love with the dashing widower who is the chateau's new owner. Slowly, however, their magical life together takes an ominous turn. As the darkness gathers around her, Marie-Ange must find the faith and courage to take a desperate step to save her loved ones...and herself. It is about being seduced and lied to and turned around, and wanting to believe the lies -- until the moment comes, in one blinding instant, when survival and salvation depend on a final Leap of Faith: the only path to freedom, and life. Danielle Steel weaves another tangled web of deceit and betrayal in Leap of Faith, the story of one woman's triumph over several kinds of adversity. Orphaned at the age of 11, Marie-Ange Hawkins is forced to leave her family's chA?teau in France and live with her cold and uncaring elderly aunt on a farm in Iowa. There she befriends the boy next door, who grows up at her side and comes to love her. But when Marie-Ange turns 21, she learns that her penny-pinching aunt has hidden the fact that her parents left millions of dollars in trust. Heady with her newfound wealth, Marie-Ange returns to her childhood home, where she meets the handsome Comte Bernard de Beauchamp. A whirlwind marriage and two children follow, but Marie-Ange soon learns that her husband is not the man she thinks he is; he just may be a cold-blooded killer. Library Journal When her parents die, Marie-Ange is exiled from her beloved Chateau Marmouton--to America, of all places, where a grudging great-aunt awaits. Will she ever be able to reclaim her chateau? Is this a Danielle Steel novel? Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. School Library Journal Adult/High School-Entertaining fluff, perfect when the book report is due tomorrow. At age 11, Marie-Ange's idyllic, rich, sheltered life in rural France is shattered when her adoring parents are killed in a car accident. She's sent off to gruff great-aunt Carol to live on an Iowa farm, and Marie becomes Carol'sslave" and wears clothes from the Goodwill store. Her only moments of happiness are with her friend Billy at school. When Marie comes of age, she learns that she is wealthy; her aunt did not use any of her large trust fund. On a return trip to the family chateau in France she meets and falls in love with Bernard, a widower. But what are his motives? Who should Marie trust? This heart-wrenching, soap-opera romance will grab the attention of teens who want a fast read. Steel quickly and efficiently develops the characters as the action unfolds. Much of the plot would be considered predictable, but there are a few surprises.-Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.