Ingrained in Natalie Crane since childhood was the habit of planning. Her father had often reminded her to plan how she wanted her life to be and then follow through. She had paid attention and done well for herself. She had graduated from a prestigious ivy league law school, landed a lucrative job with a well known law firm, written a best selling nonfiction book, and was in a committed relationship with Alan Kimball, a highly successful computer software consultant. Unfortunately, Natalie's world is crushed when Alan confesses that he has impregnated his ex wife Marlene. Her pride and self-confidence, particularly as a woman, and what she considered as a strong ability in judging character is shot. She breaks up with Alan and throws herself into her work, vowing to take a rest from the dating scene for awhile. A special nursing home abuse case in Macon, Georgia is assigned to Natalie and she finds that she will be working closely with Jack Coogan, her firm's chief private investigator. Jack is tall and handsome with a killer body. Her friend Vera urges her to forget Alan, move on with her life, and find somebody else. She learns that Natalie will be working with Jack, a man that several of her friends lusts after. She suggests that Jack would be a good candidate to make her feel like a woman again as long as she's careful not to have any expectations about the relationship. Fearful that Jack is just a womanizer, Natalie dismisses Vera's advice. But while in Macon working on the case, she gets to know Jack and after a productive work day and an intimate dinner, she succumbs to Vera's advice and winds up in Jack's hotel room. Although she and Jack agree that neither has any expectations of the other, Natalie discovers that she has feelings for Jack. Later, as they spend another passionate night together, she shares those feelings with Jack and finds that he has feelings for her, as well. Although, unbeknownst to her he has been in love with her since they first met over a year ago. In the midst of culminating the evidence to present at a meeting on Friday, Natalie gets a telephone call from Vera who informs her that Alan's ex wife has been killed accidentally in a struggle over a gun with her boyfriend Edgar. On her deathbed she confesses to Alan that the baby is not his but Edgar's. Knowing Natalie to be a woman of high principles, Jack fears that her empathy for Alan could mean that she might forgive Alan and take him back. Could his short relationship with Natalie compete with the history that Alan has had with her?
About the Author: Mildred Wilson is a former education analyst for the Michigan Legislature. In addition to political papers and speeches, she has written two nonfiction books and one novel. A Woman of Principle is her second novel. She enjoys art, jazz, reading, and traveling, especially touring international art museums. She lives in Michigan where she is a caregiver for her mother and her miniature schnauzer.