Edward Ahlborn is a prodigal son. After almost a decade away from home, he returns to the family ranch in Culver’s Creek, Montana to visit his parents, sisters, and his twin brother Will. Ten years will change any man, and he wonders what his family will think of him, now that he’s been away.

With both parents working all hours and four younger brothers at home, the care and keeping of the household is squarely on her shoulders. When her father forces her to find a job in addition to everything else, it proves to be too much. Desperate for a way out, Mandy agrees to become a mail-order bride and marry a man she’s never met—a ranch hand named Matthew Bostwick, in Mine’s Place, Colorado. But traveling from Boston to Colorado is just the beginning of Mandy’s journey. 

Iris James has every reason to run away from home. Living in her uncle’s cold, loveless household has stripped her of everything – including her hope for the future. When a matrimonial agency matches her up with a widower in Mountain Pass, Oregon, she’s only too glad to accept. Though the challenge of stepping into a dead woman’s shoes and becoming a wife and mother all at once will be difficult, she can’t believe it could be any worse than staying in Philadelphia. But there’s far more to the story than she expects – her new husband is haunted by the ghosts of his tragic past.

After her father passes away, Jodie Wines is lonely and overworked. Her stepmother, a vain and lazy woman, leaves Jodie to do everything. Jodie’s one consolation is that she still lives in her father’s house, her childhood home in Boston, in the town she loves. But when she discovers her stepmother’s plot to marry her off to an odious merchant, Jodie flees west to become a mail order bride.

Mallory Stewart’s father arranges a marriage between her and the town’s mayor. The mayor is an odious man, and Mallory wants nothing to do with him. She escapes the marriage when he is arrested for stealing from the town’s treasury. Frank Griffin needs a wife. But in Spring Valley, Texas, potential wives are hard to come by. Frank learns of a mail order bride agency, and thinking himself a fool, he sends an application. A month later, he receives a letter from a lady back East who agrees to marry him.

Josiah Schrock has his hands full. His two young nephews have temporarily been living with him since losing their parents in a tragic accident. Unable to care for them while at work, he hires Olivia King to watch them and manage the household. What he doesn’t count on, is how easily Olivia slips into the role. Josiah’s girlfriend, Marjorie, is none too pleased. As Christmas grows near, the boys are to be sent to Pennsylvania to live with kin there. However, Josiah now loves them dearly. How can he send them away?

Betrayed and brokenhearted by the man she loved, Barbara Milton moves to Cedar Hill, Texas, in search of a new future. Wealthy rancher Abner Randolph's head is turned, and Barbara believes that she's found her happily ever after. But Abner's mother believes that Barby is a gold digger and has only married her son because he's a wealthy man. In any case, Mrs. Randolph already has a suitable wife for her son, and she's determined to make sure her plans are not thwarted!

Juliette Purcell has never known anything beyond her small, miserable world: the tiny tenement where she lives with her mother and brother; the grimy street filled with terrifying homeless men; and the market square where they scrounge scraps of food. Her mother, a washerwoman, works incessantly, yet Juliette and her brother Reuben often go hungry.

Aidan O'Shaunessy has been working hard; down the mines by day and trying to get his land in order by night. But finally he has the money he needs to buy the dairy herd he needs to salvage his family's heritage. But he is lonely and craves the love of a good woman. Meredith Lisle was born into privilege, but her comfortable life has been ripped from her grasp by the tragic deaths of her beloved parents. Courageous to the last, she takes her future into her own hands, but can she banish the ghosts from Aidan's past?

Amber is alone in New York and struggling to get by when she's forced to vacate her home. With nowhere to go and desperation setting in, she decides to accept a marriage proposal from Jack, a rancher in Montana.