Red Roses Forever
On the eve of the first Kentucky Derby, a brave young beauty encounters romance and danger--and a suitor with a fatal secret.

A GIRL NAMED WILLA BETH--A THOROUGHBRED NAMED LIGHTNING--AND A RACE THAT WILL CHANGE THEIR WORLD...

CHURCHILL DOWNS, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, May 7, 1875:

A glorious day in the history of the Bluegrass state:  the first running of the Kentucky Derby--and a fateful day for lovely young Willa Beth Davis, who has staked her very life on the race.

An orphan of an old horse-breeding family, Willa put all her hopes in a filly named Lightning and a wealthy suitor named Tyrone Maddox--a man possessed by inner demons that spell disaster for the redhaired Willa

As her world is about to be torn apart by the insane passions of Tyrone Maddox Willa's fate rests on a tall, lean stranger form Mississippi named Jackson Powell--and on a long-shot victory in the first Kentucky Derby.