Nellie Williams is tired of the mundane, everyday sort of life she leads in Middleburg, Virginia. She longs for adventure, excitement, and true love—but she stands little chance of finding any of it if she stays put at home. When her cousin tells her about matrimonial agencies, her imagination takes flight at once. She can just see it now—being matched with a handsome cowboy in the Wild West, raising children, fighting off outlaws. But as she starts her journey toward the future, the fulfillment of her dreams is far more than she bargained for.

Angie Rosewood makes a big mistake: She falls in love with her employer’s son, Marcus Donahue. By some miracle, he falls for her, too. If they are caught speaking to each other, she will be fired. Marcus swears he’ll take care of things, but he doesn’t get the chance. After Marcus leaves on a business trip, Angie is summoned to the housekeeper’s office. The head housekeeper takes joy in telling Angie she’s been seen kissing Marcus, and her employment is terminated. When she reads an advert for mail-order brides, it seems the only answer to her prayers.

Her husband is dead. She's pregnant. And her odious brother-in-law is forcing her hand in marriage. Betty Rochester can't abide the thought of Garrett having anything to do with her child. Or her. She has to escape and fast. Her only hope is to get as far away from Boston—and Garrett—as she can. But Betty has run out of options. Except one. Her sister became a mail-order bride, so why can't she? But Betty doesn't count on her mail-order husband rejecting her when he discovers she's with child. Now she's thousands of miles from home with a man who can barely look her in the face.

When his young wife dies unexpectedly, Jed McBride has a tough time looking after his young daughter Josie. He decides to send for a mail order bride, hoping to find someone to help take care of his little girl. Across the country, Estelle Morrow is desperate to get away from the Slate Gang and their ruthless leader Amos. As a young girl, she joined her brother as a member of the gang, but now, she wants nothing more than to escape the life of crime.

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.