Willow James is anything but a recluse. When she finds herself alone, after divorcing her husband of seven months, she takes her editor's advice and goes where her first two books take place. Leaving her job as an investigative reporter, Willow moves to Wyoming to start over and pursue her career as a novelist. She had to distance herself from embarrassment and the safety net of well-meaning friends and family in California.

Terry Du Champs longs to return home to reestablish his roots, if he can keep his anonymity. Even though both his parents are gone, he doesn't want to forget where he came from. He fled to Australia when he was seventeen, after the trial of his father's murderer. Not wanting to risk another disastrous relationship like the one he left, Terry intends to live alone on the cattle ranch he'll build in Elk Valley, Wyoming.

The two meet at a local coffee shop after Willow apologizes for yelling into her phone at her ex-husband. Terry is secretive about his past and becomes suspicious of Willow's friendly nature when he learns she's a writer. A quirk of fate brings them together, but is it enough to turn friendship into the love both long for?