Orphaned at thirteen, a mail order bride at fourteen, widowed at sixteen, Sarah Kennedy learned to depend only on herself. At 20, Sarah is determined to never again need a man to survive. She gives all of her love to her younger brother and all of her time to the ranch that supports them. Her spare time is spent searching for the fabled Spanish treasure lost in the Utah wilderness that surrounds her home. When the lethal Culpepper clan settles within miles of her home, Sarah realizes that she will not be able to protect her brother and her land and search for treasure alone. The Civil War and the Culpeppers have taught Case Maxwell three things: how to be a patient, deadly fighter; to love nothing that can die; and that justice is blind. He has sworn vengeance on the Culpeppers, who destroyed all that he held dear. When a fight with them leaves him near-dead, Sarah Kennedy takes it upon herself to nurse him back to health. Sarah and Case realize that as a team they have the courage to face the risks and violent peril that await them in this wild, magnificent land. Together they discover a passion that is like a fire that burns in the very heart of winter.