Dennie Murray returns to Canyon Creek Ranch with her teaching degree after a two-year absence. Stepping off the train she greets family and friends who barely recognize her transformation from tomboy to sophisticated young career woman.
No one is more shocked than RJ, her best friend since childhood. Now adults, their feelings for each other could grow beyond Dennie's innocent yearnings. But a rivalry for her affections has unintended consequences. The train depot in Cascade Wyoming is an artery of business in the early 1900s, shipping cattle and delivering goods and people. Vale's Salon and Maxie's Place thrive. New ventures are begun and the little City of Firsts hurries toward the future. But this is still a wild country outside the boundaries of town, and danger lurks in the foothills. The women of Canyon Creek Ranch are thrown in harms way and their men must meet the challenge no matter the cost to themselves.