Dinah McKinnie, the once rich beauty of Marietta, Georgia, was abandoned by all her suitors who left for war. With the South burned, and her future bleak, she desires to find a husband who adores her above all else. She only hopes he is everything the mail-order bride service promises: a man who is docile, dependable, devoted, and dutiful. Colt Hardin, leader, commander, warrior who won every battle he ever fought returned home more beast than man. Too broken and ill-tempered to raise his sister's orphaned children,, he sends for a new wife-a woman who will care for his kids so that he can escape to the only thing he knows, fighting. But when a different kind of war knocks at his door, he must choose between protecting his family or his sanity.