content: This is the first novel I have read by Coulter and look forward to reading some more of hers. If some say this is not one of her best, then the "Cove" and "Maze" must be great. (Those are next on my list.) I thought the plot and characters to be real. I do agree, however, that the resiliance of Emma after all the trama she went through is pretty hard to swallow. No child could be that well adjusted. But that's fiction!!!