Growing up in Louisiana, Gabriel's young life is a happy one, despite the growing rift between her mother and her conniving, whiskey-drinking Daddy. Her dreams for a bright future as an artist are cut short, however, when her innocence is shattered by the rich cannery owner Octavious Tate.

Pregnant and desperate to spare her mother the scandal, Gabriel agrees to a shocking plan that will allow Octavious's wife Gladys to claim the baby as her own and will net Gabriel's father a huge payoff. Hiding in a tiny abandoned playroom in the Tate mansion, Gabriel is miserable. Her only visitor is her mother, whose mission as a Cajun healer gives her an excuse to treat Gladys Tate's supposed pregnancy. But nothing prepares Gabriel for the wrenching moment when her baby is taken away forever.

Returning home to the swamp, Gabriel drifts in a world of gloom, brightened only by chance glimpses of her son. But as her father's reputation as a swamp guide grows, a hunting party brings handsome, gentle Creole millionaire Pierre Dumas to the bayou. Falling desperately in love, Gabriel will not heed the voice warning that her new joy may bring her more grief than she can bear.