IVORY & EBONY: With Ivory and Ebony, think of two Liberated Women... on steroids.

It was 2003 and Las Vegas, Nevada would never be the same without her. Ivory Meadows' charisma at Caesar's Palace rivaled all the hypnotic lights of Vegas' famous strip. And now, with her fifth marriage coming to an abrupt end, she was leaving Las Vegas with bittersweet memories. It would be a very sad day for Las Vegas and the millions of worshipping fans, who for years had come to see and hear Ivory sing and entertain.

She had just finished singing at a sell-out performance in Chicago when police came and whisked her away, and informed her that there had been a serious death threat made on her life.

The police insisted she have a twenty-four-hour bodyguard with her at all times, and they had the perfect person for the job: Ebony Waters!

It was anything but a love-at-first-sight encounter for the two powerful women. Nevertheless, very reluctantly, Ebony took on the job. Her game-plan was to take Ivory to New Orleans and hide out there with her family.

Ebony had worked with the Chicago Police Department until her police husband had been killed a month earlier in the line of duty. She was on a sabbatical when Ivory Meadows came barreling into her life. Ebony was a black woman with the blues, and the last thing she wanted was to be nursemaid to a bleach-blonde, sex kitten, country singer and actress. If Bessie Smith were alive and had Ebony's life history for blues material, then there would be one more blues song to top the charts.

New Orleans proved to be what the doctor ordered for Ivory and Ebony. The family setting was something Ivory had always dreamed about, and now, at least for the moment, she had it. But peace and bliss could not dominate for long in "The Big Easy." Ebony soon learned why the death threat had been made on Ivory's life, and how the wooden jewelry box which Ivory's husband had bought for her in Hong Kong played a major role in the drama.

Diamonds have been a reason for murdering more than one person in history.

The mafia chase had begun and Ebony knew that as long as she kept the jewelry box in her own possession, Ivory would be safe and out of harm's way. Ivory had previously shipped the ugly box to her mother's home in Kentucky before her divorce, because she never liked it.

Ebony's handsome, street-wise brother had been more than willing to show the beautiful and sexy Ivory the sights of New Orleans, and so he did, but now it was no longer safe there for Ivory, so once again she and Ebony found themselves back on the road, but this time they would hide out with a friend in the discreet, little seaside town of Destin, Florida.

Before a tan could be had from strollers on the beautiful, white sandy beach, and deep-sea fishing in the gulf, once again the pursuers were hot on their tail, and they must run.

This time they would take a cruise liner out of Miami and an intriguing government; law enforcement agent would accompany then.

Ivory had been scheduled to perform on the cruise ship, and she was determined to not let the mafia or anyone else keep her from doing what she wanted to do. But danger soon found them, and Ivory and Ebony gave new meaning to the story of "Thelma and Louise."

What began as two women feeling that their world had come to an end, had now developed into a lifetime friendship, and a new realization about the most important things in life, and how those things were as close as their fingertips.