A train accident along the Ohio River propels Jasmine O'Neal into Spencer Galloway's life. His house is closest to the river, so, because she is hurt, she is brought there. Spencer outwardly appears to live a boring life on a small farm, working as the local schoolteacher. He is raising three children that aren't his own, and he leads a double life as a conductor along the Underground Railroad. The last thing he needs is Jasmine living under his roof and endangering his secrets. She wants to be gone, too, because she is used to a life on the road with a traveling show. Finding the intense man attractive, she tries to ignore her feelings. She was hurt by a bad love affair and doesn't trust any man, especially one who is clearly hiding something. But their hearts demand to be freed, too, and they realize the only way they can save those they love from the tightening noose of the authorities trying to close down a suspected station along the Railroad is to set aside their pasts and embrace their present . . . and each other.