Heather Barlow has always been an idealist and now that she’s finished high school, she’s ready to make a difference in the world. After graduation, she joins a mission group on a hospital mercy ship sailing to Africa. Once she’s left the ship on the Kenyan coast and is stationed at a hospital in Uganda, however, Heather is not really prepared to face the disease, famine, and misery she encounters. Ian McCollum is also among the medical staff in Uganda. Ian has left his native Scotland to help those threatened by a world of indifference. When Heather meets Ian, she finds her heart quickens and she’s happy to be alive. But as the weeks pass, Heather finds her idealism vanishing amid the overcrowded refugee camps and orphanages; misery is everywhere. Only Ian can see beyond the horror and help Heather understand that the world can be changed by saving those in need, one by one.

When Heather Barlow returns from Africa, the joy she felt during her missionary trip fades. She's still suffering from unresolved grief over the death of her friend Ian, and now that she's back home in the United States, she feels directionless. And while Heather has changed a great deal, her family has not. She is discouraged to see that her sister, Amber, seems no more mature than when Heather left, her parents no less involved with a medical practice that caters to the wealthy. Heather's sense of purpose is renewed when she persuades her mother to travel with her back to Uganda to try to save the baby she rescued on her mission trip. But when Heather becomes ill and cannot undertake the journey, Amber agrees to go in her place. Now Amber must emerge from her sister's shadow to grapple with the age-old question, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

HEATHER BARLOW HAS always been idealistic, and now that she has finished high school, she’s ready to make a difference in the world. After graduation she joins a mission group on a hospital mercy ship sailing to Africa. Praise for Angel of Mercy : “There’s a huge audience for McDaniel’s romance fiction, and this one has all the features her readers look for.”— Booklist “Most readers will be caught up in the passion and sorrow of Heather’s missionary experiences.”— School Library Journal Praise for Angel of Hope : “The love between the sisters is realistically portrayed, and Amber’s slow maturation is convincing.”— Booklist