The past is never far behind. Senia Loato's life has been needled by disappointment, and the wounds that fester go beyond skin deep. She is certain if she puts miles between her and her tainted past, she will somehow outrun it. When she's offered the chance to leave her island home of Mintang to become an au pair for three boys in Germany, she takes the opportunity to start running. In Germany, she meets Miina, another African au pair. What builds between them is a life-defining friendship, one they will risk everything for. And soon, they'll be asked nothing less. When Miina is betrayed and left stranded, Senia stands by her, risking much more than just her stay in Germany. She also stands to lose rich, handsome, turquoise-eyed Roman Dorenwald, the first man she has allowed into her heart. But they're risks worth taking. Eventually, Senia makes a sacrifice that catapults her back to her past, where she's forced to draw back the curtain and discover the shocking truth of her history. Can she confront her nightmares, reach deep into her soul, and forgive those who have hurt her? Or is it easier to just keep running? ***This story was partly inspired by true events***

Can a trail of tears be the ticket out of a cruelty-filled world? What if every tear you cried was the key to your salvation? Can a vial of tears be the beginning of freedom? What if every tear you shed could someday set you free? Tangi was born with one leg shorter than the other, a handicap that gave her a limp, brought her pain, and left her feeling like an outsider around everyone except her father. Papa has always loved her for who she is and tried to make her see that she was born special-because she was. On the morning of his death, Papa gives Tangi three bottles in exchange for her promise to cherish them, but before Tangi can ask what they are for, he is gone. Heartbroken and alone for the first time in her life, Tangi finds herself lost in a world of abuse and cruelty. On the eve of her thirteenth birthday, she is shocked to discover the bottles are no longer empty, but magically filled with every teardrop she's cried since her father's death. They are enchanted tears and they hold a secret, one that will free her from her life of abuse, pain, and the cruel world she knows. The kingdom of Rosevine is a place where nothing is impossible, a perfect paradise on the outside. But Tangi will soon find perfect isn't always what it seems. As much as she needed to escape to Rosevine, Rosevine and its people need her, too. Only she has the power to break the curse that has hovered over the kingdom, but breaking it is easier said than done, and time is running out.