IMAGES OF ROSE

Cousin Rose, who takes root in the motherless household of Captain Westerdale, sire of teenagers Ellen and Lucy, carries a blight that will drive the Captain to sea, an old retainer out in the cold, and Lucy to illness and exile. Worse, she had married the Captain before he went down with his ship, and is becoming downright dangerous -- with knives and tantrums. At last Ellen rallies to find help, a true love and a surprise relative. Although this is wholesome and readable enough, if you can't spot this genus early on, it's your lack of topsoil.