When Connie’s father dies and leaves the ranch in her hands, she knows that she has her work cut out for her. Not in running the ranch; no, she can handle that without a problem. But how is she going to convince her father’s men to follow her orders, when she’s just a young society miss?

…But what if she were married to some gent back in St. Louis? That would make her seem more capable, right? Thus begins her scheme; she pops on her mother’s wedding band, makes up a name—or two—for her mythical husband, and sets out to run Sullivan’s Ridge. But when she meets the ranch foreman, dreamy Nick Anderson, she begins to suspect that she’s made a big mistake. As the two help each other through their mutual loss by embracing the magic of the Christmas season, Connie’s “husband” stands between them. Can she manage to come clean, to confess that the ring’s a lie, before their passion boils over? Or worse, before his sense of honor drives Nick away—forever?