1860. Harriet Miles is trying to take care of her seriously ill mother,
and just when she thinks things couldn't get any worse she is fired from
her job at the hostelry. The last thing she expects after her mother
dies is a marriage proposal from a man she barely knows, but her only
alternative is the workhouse. And so begins her new life with Noah Tuke.
But instead of marital bliss, Harriet finds herself in the cramped
farmhouse which Noah calls home, and in this overcrowded and angry
household she meets with hostility and bitterness. The only person who
offers her friendship is Noah's brother, Fletcher. Gradually she learns
the true reasons behind Noah's desire to marry her--and realizes that
the only person she finds real companionship with is the person she
can't possibly be with...