A self-righteous, devotee of his church, James Henry Scott yearned to instill piety into his two hell-raising sons. Once a lusty lad himself, he knew the grief they might encounter if they continued their wicked ways. To save them from temptation, he decided to move his family and his cattle to the newly born state of Texas; but how could he ever have imagined the temptation that awaited him in the diminutive Indian girl known as Ivy. When he had first spotted Ivy shivering in her tattered red dress and her worn black shawl, he assumed she was just a half-breed, an Indian whore. After agreeing to take her with them on the long trail to Texas, he would discover a love with the little waif that defied tradition.... a tradition that could not possibly include the shrew of a wife he'd left behind.