Accepting an ad for a mail-order bride was supposed to solve her problems.

It's 1890, and Golden, New Mexico is a booming mining town where men far outnumber women. So when a wealthy miner named Philip Smith finds himself in need of a nursemaid, he places an ad for a mail-order bride-despite the protests of his friend Jeremiah.

Hoping to escape a perilous situation back East, Madeleine Mercer answers the ad and arrives in town under a cloud of suspicion. But just as she begins to win over Philip-and Jeremiah himself-the secrets she left behind threaten to follow her to Golden . . . and tarnish her character beyond redemption.