Rachel Kearney: When her father returned from the War Between the States, it wasn't the joyful reunion she'd expected. For he was on the run from the law ...and now Rachel, her sister, brother and baby cousin had to flee Vicksburg, and the only home they'd ever known...

Dan Overton: He was on his way to Fort Worth, in search of an elusive killer. But from the moment he laid eyes on the spirited redhead calling herself the Widow Kearney, his heart went out to her--and the unruly brood she was struggling so desperately to protect...

In a rugged post-war frontier, beset by danger on every side, they were thrust together by capricious fate -- joined by a passion that defied all reason and a love that knew no bounds ....