Sophie Connor has only known love once in her life – and when he marries another, she is faced with a choice. Either spend the rest of her life as a sad old maid, haunting the lower stories of her parents’ home, or agree to become a Mail Order Bride to a man in Mountain Pass, Oregon. But the man she becomes engaged to has a tragic history of his own. Sophie falls for her husband to be at first sight. Tall, handsome, kind – and not given to long speeches – Evander Holland is exactly the sort of man she hoped he would be. But though his affection for his family and town are clear, he seems less ready to open up to his new bride. As Sophie draws ever closer to his family and friends, there are more secrets in this little town than she suspected – and one of them holds the key to what happened to Evander Holland’s heart.