When 23-year-old Kristen Anderson received word that her uncle had died and left her his Larkspur ranch in Montana, she at least had a choice in life. Relegated to the role of servant in her brother's house, she had accepted her fate, but now she had a chance to live on her own. Over her brother's violent opposition, she boarded the train in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. On her arrival in Big Timber, Montana, she found a suspiciously eager buyer waiting to purchase the ranch she had yet to see. With a little help from a local citizen, she evaded the schemer and made her way to the ranch, only to find two men living on her land: one young, strong, and with ideas of his own about the property; the other sad, senile, and completely dependent. Kristen had inherited trouble with her legacy--and mystery. Would the two men help her fight the venal Forsythe forces who sought to wrench the ranch from her? Would she meet life or death here? Would she discover undying hatred--or eternal love?