1882 – Colorado
Shaina Sterling hates the lie she’s living but feels she has no choice. Soon after the shocking death of her husband, the young widow learns how deeply entrenched in debt his lavish lifestyle has left her. To protect the legacy of his name, as well as her own reputation and her stately home at Sterling Hall, Shaina secretly sells off valuable possessions, piece by piece, and hopes that her wealthy Denver friends never discover the truth. Successful rancher Sloan Remington knows far more about Shaina than she realizes, but because of a promise he made to her husband as he lay dying, he guards her secrets as carefully as he looks after her safety. But soon, a series of additional misfortunes make Shaina beholden to him and threaten to expose a truth about himself that he’s long worked hard to keep hidden. Will trials and tragedies bring these two together? Or will secrets and the cost of exposing them drive them apart forever?