1894 – Kansas
After losing her husband and children to typhoid, Summer Steadman lacks the desire to forge ahead to Oklahoma. Instead she seeks employment in the small Mennonite community of Gaeddert, Kansas, to be near the graves of her family. Widower Peter Ollenberger, the local gristmill owner, needs someone to teach his son. When he hears of a “learned woman” in town, he believes she is the answer to his prayers, despite the fact that he faces censure for helping an “outsider.” There is next to nothing Peter will not do for his son. But when the boy begins looking at Summer as more than a teacher, Peter battles with himself. Does he marry this woman to give his son a new mother, or does he marry only for love?