At twenty-eight, Wanda Henke has worked for the Albany Gazette for six years now, the last two as one of their crime reports. When she and her editor attempt to check out a lead, the editor is murdered in cold blood, with her as a witness. A crooked police detective puts her in the murderers’ crosshairs, causing her to flee the city. Along the way, she stumbles upon an advertisement for a matrimonial service and she sends in her application. By the time she arrives in San Francisco, an offer of marriage from the owner of a lemon orchard. While she’s uncertain, she knows that she can’t keep running forever. With any luck, changing her name and hiding away on a farm will thwart the men following her. Caleb Hornsby is the owner of the largest Meyer lemon grove in the upstate area. It’s taken him nearly ten years to build up his business. Working night and day has left him little time for courting. And, given the area isn’t exactly teaming with would-be brides, he follows his best friend’s advice and sends for a mail-order bride. It isn’t until strange men show up in town looking for someone with Wanda’s description that he wonders if he’s married a criminal. Or, worst yet, someone he can no longer trust.