Julia Cavanaugh leaves New York for the first time in 1889 to accompany a group of orphans to their new families in thewest, but her plans to return directly home are put on hold when she learns that she has been sold in marriage to an uncouth miner in Montana, and she must turn to a respected circuit preacher for help.

Driven by desperation, Grace Hawkins must forsake the affluent comfort of her upbringing to save herself from an arranged marriage. Disillusioned by her father's insistence, she forges a daring plan to escape the sinister hand of her intended. Peter Colton sees the Alaskan gold rush as an opportunity to establish his family's fledgling shipping business. An unexpected partnership enables him to pursue those dreams and opens the door to an acquaintance...