Ruby McGavin isn't quite sure what she's doing in the small town of Cardinal. After the death of her husband, Cole, Ruby is shocked to learn from his will that she had inherited part of a cattle ranch in the rustic grasslands of Tokopah County, California. But she is even more surprised to find out that the family he claimed died years ago is very much alive.

With her own family history still haunting her, Ruby arrives in town with her husband's ashes, intending on selling her part of the ranch back to the McGavins and leaving town to start a new life. But as she comes to know them - in particular the handsome saddlemaker Lucas McGavin - Ruby learns even more surprising family secrets about her departed husband and his family that make her wonder if she ever really knew Cole.Driven to uncover the whole story, Ruby tries to piece together the lies she was told with the truths she isn't sure she can believe - and uncovers a legacy of pain and denial that has pursued the McGavin family for too long ...