No chapter in the story of America is more colorful than the opening up of Florida about the turn of this century. And no one is better qualified to picture the pioneering of this romantic part of the country in authentic fiction than Theodore Pratt, whose earlier novel The Barefoot Mailman is recognized as a Florida classic, having sold nearly half a million copies in all editions. The Flame Tree is the tale of the people who built a luxurious playground out of the isolated settlement called Palm Beach. To this wild frontier, Tip Totten, one of the first white hunters to roam the mysterious tropical Everglades, brings his bride, Jenny. Their home is a small thatch palm cabbage hut; their proudest possession the royal poinciana or Flame Tree that blooms brilliantly outside. It is from this tree that the Fabulous Royal Poinciana Hotel, built by Flagler to lure the wealthy from all over the earth, takes its name. With the completion of the Ponce, there exist side by side two worlds of striking contrast, one characterized by extravagant luxury, the other by the duress of pioneer life. Jenny Totten comes to know each of these worlds and is forced ultimately to make a choice between them and between the two men by whom they are personified for her. Estranged from her husband as a consequence of their childless marriage and his frequent absence on hunting trips, she turns naturally to the magnificent edifice across the lake for solace. Her beauty and courage give her entre to its glittering halls and finally to the heart of the rich, carefree, handsome Cleve Thornton. Unwittingly she finds herself torn between two compelling alternatives. The development of this conflict is portrayed against an exciting background that only such a diverse setting could produce. There is the gorgeous pageant of the hotel with its opening day celebration, the arrival of the first train, the great Washington Birthday Ball and the personalities who find their way to this haven in private railroad cars. There is the savagery of a frontier town, the violence of the hurricane that nearly inundates it and the treacherous allure of the Everglades to which Tip Totten escorts hotel guests to hunt, fish or witness his daring battles with the giant reptiles that lurk in their swamps. As must inevitably happen, the rivals for Jenny's affection finally come face to face, and the resulting contest takes the form of a grim and bizarre drinking duel that proceeds from Bradley's, the famous gambling club, to the notorious Banyan Street. Its thrilling and almost tragic consequences force the cruel decision that Jenny must make between Tip, whom she loves, and Cleve, who can give her a life of comfort - and the children she wants. Mr. Pratt brings to the reader a vivid picture of this unique era in Florida history through his heartwarming story of two adventurous people who nearly lose their love in finding it. - P. 2, cover.