James Fort at Jamestown, Virginia, 1608 In September 1608, Anne Burras is the only European woman in Jamestown when her mistress dies upon arrival. Laborer John Layton is one of only thirty-eight colonists who survived the first year in the colony. Both want Anne on the supply ship returning to England in three months, but neither foresee the difficulties they will face just to stay alive—or the painful sacrifices they will make to stay together.

McCrea Fur Post, Upper Mississippi River, 1792 Abi McCrea has been raised in a remote fur post on the Upper Mississippi River, the daughter of a Scottish fur trader and his Indian wife. All she wants is to see the world beyond her stockade walls, but her father worries that life in the city will not be kind to her. Englishman Isaiah Kingsley has worked for years to gain the trust of his employer. When he agrees to take a letter into the backcountry, a week’s journey inland, he doesn’t expect to escort a captivating young woman on his return to Montreal. After they arrive in Montreal, and nothing goes as expected, Abi and Isaiah are soon faced with a decision. Will their plans keep them apart, or will they finally find what they were looking for all along?

In 1852, Sarah Ellis is teaching at the Belle Prairie Mission when she and three other teachers learn that they must marry by the end of the year, or they will be asked to leave the mission field. Luke Longley is at the Red Lake Mission in northern Minnesota, and he is given the same instructions. When he hears that there is a single teacher at the Belle Prairie Mission, he travels a hundred and fifty miles downriver to convince her to become his bride, even though he's never met her. As soon as Luke arrives at Belle Prairie, he learns that there are four single teachers—and each is eager to become his bride. With just a week to decide, how will he ever choose?

In 1856, Josette LeBlanc is in need of a husband. According to her father’s will, if she’s not married in three weeks, she will lose her inheritance to her half-brother and stepmother. Worse, they will run her father’s business into the ground. But who will marry the twenty-six-year-old daughter of a French fur trader and his Indian wife? In answer to a newspaper advertisement, claiming there are one hundred eligible bachelors for every single woman in Little Falls, Minnesota Territory, Josie travels from St. Louis, Missouri to Minnesota to find out...

As the youngest of seven brothers, Hays Hart has never been first at anything—so he’s determined to be the first to marry. And after his father’s ultimatum, that each of his brothers marry before the end of 1874, Hays is more determined than ever. If he doesn’t marry, he risks losing his inheritance, a beautiful section of the family ranch. Hays sets his sights on the new teacher, Miss Emma Longley, but he soon discovers Emma wants nothing to do with marriage, ranching, or Texas and plans to leave Hartville in two short months. Will Hays’ charm be enough to convince her to stay?