This is a saga of a family pitted against an orphan and of a woman's fight to recover her reputation. A household help to the Salingers befriends the family patriarch and when he dies she inherits. The family contests the will and wins, uncovering the secret Laura has hidden for years.[return]perhaps a little long (748 pages), nevertheless this was a decent "beach read" kind of book - woman overcomes adversity through hard work to find true love and the business she always wanted.[return][return]Reference was made to Ben's hatred for the Salinger family, but perhaps wasnt explored enough to explain why he does what he does....

Laura - + Owen - Salinger Hotels
Builds her empire back up.

Laura Fairchild enters a charmed world when eccentric patriarch Owen Salinger takes her in as his protegee and confidante. In the patrician circles of Boston's Beacon Hill, she acquires grace, culture - and a passionate lover in Owen's nephew, Paul. But Owen's death shatters her dreams. Favored in his will, she now faces the wrath of his family, who close ranks against her. Disinherited, Laura vows to recapture all that has been ruthlessly taken away.

With brilliance and flair she builds a hotel empire. Yet beneath her successful facade lives the outcast girl, longing for the home and family she has lost. as long-buried secrets rise like threatening clouds, Laura has to fight to regain her love, her family, and to claim her true inheritance!