Annie Gayle had dreamed, along with her father, of someday leaving Akron, Ohio and heading into the Wild West. after hearing about the gold boom and the wild excitement that it had caused, they had set their sights on San Francisco .




When Annie’s father died, however, Annie had to live the dream alone. She goes west to become the mail order bride of Horace Knapp and settles into what she believes is the idyllic life. However, when she discovers that Horace already has a wife and three kids, her dream comes tumbling down.




When Bran Turner sent a message through a young boy to let Annie know that Horace was already married, he had planned to leave it at that and just drift, but fate won’t let him move on and he suddenly finds himself helping Annie follow the mystery of what happened to the money that she had signed over to her fraudulent husband.




The mystery draws the two of them together as they discover a more sinister plan and a battle against an obsessed madman. As Annie and Bran try to build a new life together, the entanglements of the past continue to threaten to keep Annie from fulfilling her dream.