Annie Rae

Annie was five when she overheard her parents for once agreeing on something â€" their only child was a nuisance they wished didn’t exist. That’s when she concluded that life only offered something â€" like security, love and affection â€" to those who were prepared to go searching for it.
Annie dreamed of becoming wealthy and independent. She established her own business and soon learned that she had entered a man’s world; a universe where chauvinism, hypocrisy, condescension, intolerance and inequality flourished. In spite of numerous setbacks she did not give up; at the height of her career her business empire spanned several continents.
Marriage and a couple of children provided another form for security.
But â€" gradually â€" Annie discovered that her success came with a price; a failed marriage, two alienated daughters and no social life.
At the age of forty-seven Annie put her business empire up for sale. The nightmare that followed â€" created by potential buyers supported by lawyers and accountants â€" contained every variant of greed, dishonesty, arrogance and betrayal she’d ever experienced through the decades.
Finally, she was free. All she now wanted was peace of mind and reconciliation with her daughters.
But with her freedom came a situation Annie had not foreseen â€" the bridge she needed to cross had to be strong enough to carry the weight of love purchased for gold.