I hadn't realized until I went hunting for the Amazon link that there were so many books with this title! This book came out in 1993 but it's difficult to tell if it predates many of the other titles since most of them are reissues, too.
This story was intended to be a mainstream saga. Although all the romantic elements are there, it doesn't follow the course of today's romances. It's gritty and emotional and sexy but the protagonists have some really strong conflicts, of the sort we can't fit into today's tight word counts and narrow parameters.
If you have the opportunity to read it, let me know what you think!
Here's the B&N link: http://tinyurl.com/4y3otsa
