Having apprenticed under her uncle, Willa Monroe runs the blacksmith shop all on her own, which was almost unheard of for a woman to do in 1870. She has to defend her honor at every turn, which is likely why the young men of Mystic, Connecticut, consider her shrewish. When injustice is wrought upon a new friend, she discovers that it’s not only her honor that needs defending.Miles Honoré left Canada after the death of his wife. Being is new to Mystic, Connecticut, he has to navigate his way through the customs of his former country. He’d forgotten how black men were often treated in America. But the affections of a new friend remind him that not everyone judges a person by the color of his skin.