Mists of Heaven by Yvonne Kalman

Set against the background of New Zealand in the mid-nineteenth century, MISTS OF HEAVEN is an enthralling story of passion, devotion and determination as a group of settlers struggle to carve out a life for themselves in a beautiful but but untamed landscape.

When her mother dies in childbirth, Lisabeth Rennie is left to fend for herself and her new baby brothers, Andrew Adopted by Gwyne and Charles Stafford, they move with Gwyne's brother Rhys Morgan to the South island in search of better land, Lisabeth is a proud and independent spirit, but her lack of insight into both her own, and other people's feelings leads her to reject Rhys's overtures and trap herself in a loveless mockery of a marriage. Enmeshed in a tangled web of bitterness and misunderstanding, Lisabeth must come to terms with the legacy of the past if she is ever to fulfill the promise of her passionate and loving nature.