Carnival beauty, Sukey Ledbetter is not the marrying kind. She's forced to take on a temporary alias as a mail-order bride in order to escape her treacherous uncle who is after her fortunes and intent on locking her up in the lunatic asylum. Nothing prepares her, however, for the sight of the rugged cowboy who's to escort her to her supposed-betrothed. Her escort is Coltrane Bloom, a man more powerfully compelling than any she had ever encountered. As a favor to his best friend, love-'em-and-leave-'em Coltrane Bloom agrees to journey to Sweetwater Springs to retrieve his friend's mail-order bride. But when he realizes she's a phony, his mission changes—reveal who the beautiful charlatan really is. Clashing with Sukey's pursuers is nothing compared to their spirited clashing of wills. Mystified by Sukey's secrets, touched by her tender nature, Coltrane feels his soul growing into the light and warmth of her vitality. Now he's confronted by his own motto—and the irony isn't lost on him when he must convince Sukey she is the marrying kind… as long as she marries him!