Katie Rose Belford is the oldest daughter in a large, voluble Irish family in Denver. The family is long on love but frequently short of money. Katie, who is more bookish and dignified than her siblings or her mother, hankers after her glamorous society aunt, but events teach her the true value of her family and friends.

Weber is particularly good at creating stories about young girls who are trying to reconcile the differences between the desires of their eyes and those of their hearts, but Katie Rose is perhaps the least compelling character in the book. Her family and friends are quirky and fun, however, and it's fun to catch glimpses of the characters from the earlier Malone novels. ( )