Ruth Randolph was convinced nothing could mar her newfound happiness. She had reconciled with her daughter, Rachel. Her niece, Jane, was engaged to Reverend Henry Kohl. And a love she thought she'd lost long ago had been rekindled, with Richard Kinsley's return to town. But when a letter arrives from her estranged father, Caleb Vance, an injustice left unresolved for more than twenty years forces Ruth to relive the darkest hour of her youth. Once caught between an arranged marriage and a passionate romance, Ruth made her choice at gunpoint and nearly died for defying her father's will. Since that day, nothing but animosity existed between them. Now, Caleb hoped his return to Copper Creek would change all that. But his crazed desire to have revenge upon the man, who caused their rift, unwittingly sparks a disastrous domino effect, leaving Ruth's life hanging in the balance and the town in danger of financial ruin. The only hope Ruth has to stop the cruel events of her past from repeating themselves rests with a most unlikely hero; the infamous gunfighter, Ethan Slade.