A devil horse; a horse farm that's falling down around her ears; debts; a neighbor who keeps pressuring her to sell the devil horse that's her only stallion; a bitter, injured father-in-law; and three young boys of her own--widow Amanda Jeffrey has a lot to deal with. And like so many women, she does. She just starts every day doing the best she can, taking care of everyone and everything without complaint or expectation of help or even gratitude.

Then one day, a drifter shows up with a young boy in tow, looking for work. The two have secrets, and her father-in-law is suspicious, but Amanda knows she needs help repairing the barn roof, and though she can't pay them, she offers Cole Donnelly and his son work in exchange for meals and a bed in the stables.

As Amanda is drawn to Cole, and finds more reasons for him to stay on, her father-in-law adds resentment that Cole might be taking his dead son's place to his suspicions, grief, and bitterness over his own injury.

Cole, for his part, knows he shouldn't stay longer, working only for room and board, as it delays even further his dream of being able to buy land and build a home for him and his son, but he can't say no to the widow he admires.

Adding to the tension is the mystery and tragedy of why a beloved horse would turn on his master and trample him to death.

Ashes of Dreams is a lush, warm story of, as the title suggests, finding new dreams in the ashes of the old. The characters are all real and sympathetic, and I hated saying goodbye to them when I closed the book. ( )