A Marriage of Convenience

She€s left with nothing and has no means of survival€¦

In the Depression-plagued rural Wisconsin of 1932, Annalee Lines loses her husband to an accident and her home to a fire within a few short months of each other. The abusive husband she can do without, but with her home and possessions totally destroyed, Annalee and her two children are now destitute. She€d been supporting her family by caring for the daughter of a widowed engineer, but with no home of her own, she can€t even do that. With memories of her brutal marriage fresh in her mind, Annalee vows never to tie herself to another man€"but unless she wants to live with her sour-faced, forbidding parents, she may have no choice.


He offers everything€¦but at what cost?

Widowed engineer Jack Harrison mourns the loss of his beloved wife. Left with a small daughter, Sissy, Jack turns to Annalee for daycare while he works. Since he€s not interested in remarrying, the arrangement is perfect€"until Annalee€s house burns down and she€s left with no option but to move in with her parents. If she does that, she€ll no longer be around. He€s unwilling to leave Sissy with anyone else but Annalee won€t risk her reputation by being a live-in babysitter, so Jack comes up with a plan: they€ll get married, Annalee and her children will move into Jack€s house, Annalee will take care of Sissy, and Jack will provide everything she and her children need. Annalee reluctantly agrees, after extracting a promise from Jack that this will be strictly a business arrangement, with no intimacy required or expected. Everything goes according to plan€"until Jack kisses her at the altar.

Now Jack no longer wants to keep his promise and Annalee is terrified. Her first husband was cruel, and Annalee doesn€t care for intimacy€¦but how long can she keep her new husband at arm€s length?