Nightshades & Paperwhites - Sophie Rogers

By 1866 the initial rush for gold has been and gone. Alexandra is fast becoming a town of dwindling opportunities especially for Ginny Doyle, an intelligent, young Irish woman with dreams of painting her way across Europe. New life is breathed into the town as Chinese miners arrive to rework the old claims. Curiosity draws Ginny down to the Chinese camp by the river. There she meets translator and miner Deming Yang. Ginny spends her days painting while lost in conversation with Deming as he mines. But there is more than just gold waiting to be unearthed. The town is also the backdrop to a murder, a mystery illness, a fire at a Chinese boarding house, a shared kiss and a dark family secret with the power to destroy everything Ginny thought she knew... 337 pages Paperback