Adam was her first love and best friend. But then he went away. Determined to experience the freedom of living in the Englisch world, he left Emma heartbroken. How could he have chosen the world over her? Now Adam is back in Middlefield, and Emma can't seem to keep him away from her family's farm. But this time she's determined to guard her heart. It might be love that keeps him there...or perhaps just guilt. When a newcomer arrives in town and shows an interest in Emma, she dismisses Adam's insistence that she be cautious.

In just a few short months, Moriah Miller's perfect life unravels. Newly wed and newly pregnant, Moriah is abandoned by her husband, Levi. He's left her, his family, and their faith without a backward glance. The community, stunned, rushes to the young woman's aid. But there is someone who feels more than just sympathy for Moriah. Gabriel Miller - Levi's twin - longs for an intimate commitment that might someday bind them to one another. Convinced of the impossibility of his dream, Gabriel settles for a mere friendship with the woman he loves.

Ever since Anna Mae’s childhood friend Jeremiah left their Amish community, she’s questioned her own place in the Amish world. The Amish life feels as if it’s closing in on her, and with her mother trying to set her up with potential suitors, Anna Mae feels trapped in a life she’s not sure she wants anymore. But she’s never told anyone that she longs for a tiny taste of freedom—freedom that could be very costly.

Sadie Schrock swore she would never marry. All of her other Amish friends could court and marry—she was content to manage the family business and eventually take it over when her parents are ready to retire. But all of that changes when a reckless driver kills both of her parents and seriously injures her younger sister. With mounting hospital bills adding to the pile of debt her parents left behind, Sadie is left with no choice: She must marry. And not just any man—the man who saw her at her weakest and walked away.

Martha Detweiler has a problem many Amish women her age would envy: She’s the only single woman in a community of young men, and they’re all competing for her favor. Overwhelmed by the unwanted attention, Martha finds herself constantly fleeing from her would-be suitors, dismayed at what her life has come to. Birch Creek’s resident matchmaker, Cevilla Schlabach, suggests a solution: Martha and the bishop’s son, Seth Yoder, should pretend they are dating.

Sweet Naomi Byler cooks meals for the guests at The Peony Inn, where Amish sisters and owners of the inn Esther and Lizzie love her like a granddaughter. She’s as happy there as a young woman can be, considering that her fiancé, Thomas, has left her to court someone else. She knows she’ll get over the love of her life in due time, but she is beginning to assume marriage will never be a part of her future.

When a newspaper ad prompts Darla King to travel to Birch Creek in search of a husband, her identical twin, Amanda, promises their parents she’ll convince Darla to come home. After all, Amanda is the responsible and reliable one. She has always protected Darla, who acts on impulse and trusts people too easily. The sisters’ close relationship is strained as Darla asserts her independence, and Amanda grapples with regrets of her past and the longings of her own heart.

Esther Zook is starting over after her father's death, piecing together a new life with as much care as she puts into her intricate quilts. When her wayward sister abandons her baby, it throws all those plans for a fresh start asunder. Esther had accepted her status as an old maid - but a mother? And a single one, at that? Not that she hasn't noticed Levi Kiem, the eligible young man who's making repairs in her house. Yet he surely has no interest in Esther as anything other than a friend....

Christian, quiet and dedicated to learning, is focused on putting a rambunctious school into order. He's also determined to check off another task on his list: finding a wife. When he suffers an accident that puts him out of commission for a few weeks, Ruby steps in. Her teaching style and personality clash with his, and he wonders if all his hard work will be undone.

Mary Margaret Miller needs an escape from her small Amish community. She boards a bus, all alone, for a vacation in Pinecraft, Florida. Meeting Betsy and Lilly on the way, she’s amazed to find two kindred spirits. They become fast friends and determine to have the best two weeks of their lives. For Mary, it starts when she meets Jayson Raber, a handsome and charming carpenter. Jayson is taken with Mary from the get-go, but he has responsibilities back home in Kentucky—including a girl he’s supposed to marry.

It was the early 1900s when Obadiah (Oba) and Merriweather's (May's) parents died tragically, leaving them orphans at ten and eleven years old. When none of their nearby relations volunteer to take them in, they are set on a train to Arkansas to go live on their Amish aunt and uncle's cotton farm. Once there, it didn't take long to discover they would be treated cruelly, no matter what they did. May, always anxious to be a godly young lady, took on more and more responsibility, trying desperately to keep the peace and convince her older brother not to run away. 

Young Cassie Weaver only wants what is expected of an Amish woman: a good Amish husband and a large family. But she’s happy as Job and Dinah Keim’s housekeeper, helping Dinah, who is losing her sight due to diabetes. For two decades the Keims have prayed for the salvation of their two children who left the community in a cloud of shame and mystery. Mason knew there was more to his mother’s past than she let on, but nothing could have prepared him for learning about his Amish roots upon his mother’s sudden death.

Aaron Coblentz has a secret: he’s been studying to take the GED. But he can’t let his Amish family know, not when his older brother already left the faith just a year after getting baptized, practically crippling the family. When Aaron asks bookmobile librarian Sarah Anne Miller for additional study guides, she arranges for Kayla Kaufman to be his tutor. Kayla has a secret, too. Her mother’s death propelled her father into a constant state of depression, and unable to deal with his erratic behavior, her longtime boyfriend has broken things off. But she hasn’t given up on love.

Edna's friend, Verna Bontrager, has a problem. Her outspoken 20-year-old daughter, Myrna, has been fired from her job. Again. Myrna's family really needs her to chip in, but she's clearly unsuited to customer service - not to mention that her sharp tongue scares away any boy who might come courting. But Edna has an idea - and his name is Ezekiel Riehl.

Yvonne Wilson makes the trek from Texas to Indiana with just one goal in mind: to convince Amishman Jake Lantz to sell her client a rare book from his collection. But Jake is as strong-willed as Yvonne. On the eve of his grandfather’s death, Jake vowed never to sell the book, and he intends to keep that promise. But he can’t say more than that, having never read it and not knowing why it was so dear to his grossdaadi.