When fashionable 17-year-old Sevana Selwyn travels from her Toronto boarding school to spend a summer in the Canadian wilderness, she sees it as an interruption on her way to pursue her art career on the plains of Alberta. But despite an antagonistic brother who resents sharing his cabin with her, and a primitive, isolated lifestyle she is unprepared for, she finds herself profoundly affected by the beauty of that wild river valley and the friendship of a rugged shepherd, who is facing his own conflicts over a forbidden love. Sevana wants to hold onto the new dreams she finds in the mountains, but the reality of winter on the flatlands, and the flamboyant artist who is determined to win her heart, threaten to steal those dreams away. Besides, what good are dreams that can't come true? Through loss, hope, and self-discovery, Sevana learns the true answer to the destiny she is seeking in this lyrical, coming-of-age novel.