Rachel Somerfield has spent most of her life in Whitman's Home for Orphaned Girls in New York City. As she approaches her eighteenth birthday, her future looks very bleak. Everything changes the day she runs into Mathew Compton, a dashing young man, who sweeps her off her feet and offers her a chance at happiness. However, things don't turn out as Rachel hopes, and she finds herself accepting a teaching position in Sand Hill, a small western town. She arrives in Sand Hill penniless, scared, and alone. Sheriff Chance Scott has been raising his son, John, alone since his wife died giving him birth. He loved his wife very much, and has given up on the idea of ever finding that kind of love again. He's resigned to raising his son on his own. When the new schoolteacher arrives, he finds out that she's in desperate need of his help. Is life offering him a second chance at love? Is it worth risking another broken heart to find out?