After years of turmoil and tragedy, Megan Wescott is close to despair when her younger brother contracts rheumatic fever. Desperate to pay for Jeremy's hospital care, she answers an ad seeking a housekeeper who is willing to move to the Colorado Territory. But Steven Chamberlin, a former Confederate soldier and riverboat gambler, wants more than a maid: He wants a "hired-by-the-month" wife so he'll receive a substantial inheritance promised by his father's will. In Colorado, rustlers and land disputes await the newlyweds, as well as the Christian message. Will Steven and Megan survive the rigors of this mountainous land as strangers...or as lovers?