The moment they met, social worker Mia Carano knew Officer Collin Grace was the perfect mentor for a runaway teen in her care. After all, the boy looked up to him, and desperately needed a role model. Though a childhood spent in foster care had hardened Collin, Mia "would" reveal the caring man she knew was inside. After all, breaking through his gruff exterior would fulfill a boy's Christmas wish... and maybe even her own.

The moment her sister's body was discovered near Ian Carpenter's New Orleans mission, crusading journalist Gretchen Barker was torn between devastating grief and a desire for revenge. She mourned her sister's drug problems and the family trouble that had started them, but the minister's professions of help made her suspicious. Except the more she got to know Ian, the more she recognized his courage in the face of adversity and his commitment to faith...and Gretchen's sharp edges began to soften. Until a mysterious phone call left her questioning whether or not he truly had something to hide.

It took serious injuries from a roadside bomb to bring war photographer Drew Michaels back to his estranged wife, Larissa. His need for adventure had ultimately pushed Larissa toward the warm embrace of the church... and away from him. But now, being back in such close quarters with his first—and only—love, was stirring up feelings of peace and comfort he'd suppressed long ago. Yet his secrets could once again tear him away from the woman to whom he'd uttered the words "I do."