The rich and powerful will do anything to anyone to get what they want in the name of love. A story about deception, the dark side of friendship, and a world where there’s no such thing as trust.

Clare knows there’s a world out there that is different from her own. But, that’s okay. She’s perfectly happy and content where she is – with her Gram as her best friend and their small apartment in Chicago. What more could she want or need than the love of the woman who raised her and adores her? When an all-expenses-paid scholarship to law school at a prestigious university lands in her lap, the rich and powerful outside world comes crashing into her innocent and secure inside world. An uber-wealthy and beautiful roommate, her two bodyguards, a rich and powerful father, preferential treatment … Clare’s world goes from simple to luxurious overnight. But, it’s a world where money covers a truth that is hidden and buried deep to ensure that the influential get anything and everything they want, no matter the consequences and no matter whose lives are ruined along the way. Where money covers a truth that is hidden and buried deep to ensure that the influential get anything and everything they want, no matter the consequences and no matter whose lives are ruined along the way. A world so different from her own. Before long, she finds herself growing used to the comforts that her roommate’s father’s money brings to her and her Gram’s lives. She’s not on the outside looking in any more. Almost blinded by her naïveté, how long will it take for her to realize that what you see from the outside is often nothing like the truth that is hidden inside? Can her innocence outmatch and outlast the lies and corruption of her new world?

This novel is the debut of author, Nancy J. Ruda (nanc), and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream and goal. Her future changed forever when she was a sophomore in high school and joined the staff of the student newspaper as a reporter and feature writer. Until that time, she was convinced that she wanted to be a teacher. She fell in love with the power of writing, and the rest is history. She went on to earn her degree in journalism and worked as a copywriter/copyeditor and account manager for several advertising and promotion agencies in Chicago before opening her own marketing company. For over 20 years, she says she wrote this book in her head while on long training runs for marathons, triathlons, and other road races. When she finally sat down to write, the words flowed and the story developed fully. She lives in mid-state Illinois with her husband, Ron, and continues to work as a freelance writer and editor. Reach out to her at njrmktgent@aol.com or at Nancy J. Ruda, Author on Facebook.