At 24, Joseph Dollarhide is struggling to find his place as the future head of his ranching family. His childhood friend, Chase Calder, has inherited the rival Calder operation, and longstanding battles over water and grass continue. But there’s yet another weight on Joseph’s shoulders. Years ago, he abandoned his teenage love, Annabeth, to court glamorous Lucy Merriweather, a seductive trickster. The affair imploded, and Annabeth went on to marry a farmer, Silas Mosby, and have two children. But now Joseph has spotted Annabeth and her family in town...and he has no doubt that her oldest, a boy, is his. Joseph’s love for Annabeth never died --- and Annabeth, too, still has feelings for him, though they’re tainted by anger. Learning that Silas is involved in a bootlegging ring leaves Joseph troubled.