Elizabeth Lewis has always been a bit of a romantic. She longs for the day she’ll be swept off her feet and marry – but first, she must wait for her older sister Mary to find a husband. That’s simply the way it should be. When Mary agrees to an engagement with a rancher in Texas, agreeing to a binding contract with a matrimonial agency, Elizabeth has a feeling her own time is near. But disaster strikes at the last minute, when Mary disappears the day she is to travel to meet her prospective husband. Suddenly, in the confusion, Elizabeth finds herself stepping into her sister’s shoes – traveling all the way from New York to Abilene, Texas, right before Christmas. For a time, she must be Mary to fulfill the strict terms of the contract. The real trouble begins when she meets rancher John Hall, her sister’s intended husband, and quickly finds herself falling for him. Can she maintain the illusion long enough to get her family out of trouble? Or will her own romantic nature be her downfall?