Her name is Grace, but she's Grit Tanner to almost everyone who knows her, a boy who'll do odd jobs and can ride any horse around. Now Grace is going west to the new land of Kentucky. She wants land and a new life, but to get there she'll have to travel down the Ohio River by boat. Keeping her true identity a secret won't be easy, especially when a silver-eyed former British major is one of the passengers and sees right away that Grace is not who she pretends to be.

The journey is dangerous both on the river and over land. But Grace is a survivor ready to take on almost any challenge except one - love.

Nathaniel Fordham doesn't understand why everyone can't see what he does—Grit Tanner is a girl. He's ready to expose her secret until he learns more about her. Now he's bent on protecting her, but protection is the last thing Grace seems to want or need. She's wary and ready to fight at the drop of a hat. The last woman anyone would want to fall in love with.