In the 1990s, Amanda French was a rising star on wall street. She was a natural and had a gift for arbitrage, squeezing every last basis point out of a trade. She learned well, and proved it on numerous occasions. She was about to pitch a lucrative investment strategy involving the proceeds of a $100,000,000 G.O. Bond coming to market to the governor of the great state of Texas, when she came face-to-face with the tall and confident Texas banker, reed petty. He was the spider and she was the fly. He invited her for a drink. What ensued was a devastating betrayal that caused her to lose everything her job, her reputation, and her ambition. She kept the BMW only because it was paid for, even though it had a slow leak. Thirty years later, Amanda meets up with the banker in Santa Salsa, an industrious border town in SW Texas, where there is only one bank. Guess who owns it. Amanda was a social worker in a small clinic in Santa Salsa and reed petty, now the mayor, was talking about running for governor. He is charmed once again by Amanda and hastily proposes marriage, convinced that together they can change the future of the state. But Amanda knows better, the man behind the mask and the proposal; she's been chewing on that for a while now. Torn between her past and her desire to help make real change, reasonable and sensible change, especially for the women and children, Amanda faces a real dilemma. She can choose living in the mansion or living in a small pueblo? It shouldn't be complicated. Was she sent to witness something? Once or twice she thought it was something, but it turned out to be something else. This time was different, it felt different. In this enjoyable narrative, Ms. McNabb blends financial intrigue, blatant misdeeds, personal tragedy and considerable loss, not once but twice, both involving men. Amanda French is a riveting exploration of betrayal, power, theft and deception. Amanda French is the heroine in this story. She never gave up. The human spirit at its most exquisite unfurling.