In 1889 the West is still an untamed land. After two years in Boston, Hetty Parrish has returned home to find that violence and lawlessness threaten everything she has ever known. What secret is behind the disappearance of a woman and child? And what danger does Hetty herself face? The shadow of greed and corruption is looming closer than anyone realizes, and shocking revelations threaten to shake the self-righteous town of Eminence down to its roots. Jesse McLaren has also returned after a two-year absence. His reputation alone should be enough to make any decent woman avoid him. But Hetty has a secret, too, from the past and it has to do with Jesse. As the evil sweeping the territory closes in around her, will Hetty find herself trusting the wrong man?