Cassandra Barrett Rivers

Cassie Barrett is an anthropologist whose talents are slowly helping her gain status in her academic field. She teaches anthropology at the college level, but until Alex intervenes for her, is not offered an assistant professorship because her academic interests do not coincide with those of her department head. She is an intelligent, seemingly self-assured woman who is not beautiful in the classic sense, but is fair-haired and well built, with a certain type of genuineness and refinement of the well-educated. Cassie has not had many serious relationships, and her best friend, Ophelia, is an opportunistic social climber who seems the exact opposite of Cassie. They are both in competitive fields, but Ophelia's field requires a more devious approach.

Cassie meets super-star Alex Rivers in Africa and is not only enchanted by his manners and elegance, but also by the fact that he appears to break...