Slightly plump and over-aged at six and twenty, Abigail Preston sits on a shelf in England, with no hope of marriage. She loses all she loves to the epidemic cholera, and to make matters worse, her father's will stipulates she must marry within a year to inherit. Desperate, she answers an advertisement for a bride in America; Benjamin Siddle only requests that she be made of sturdy stock and resistant to cold weather. Opportunity is knocking for Abby, so she travels to America to marry a man she doesn't know in a last bid for happiness.Abigail is faced with an unknown surprise upon arrival at Benjamin's home, but what will she do? Someone is willing to do whatever it takes to stop her marriage to anyone. But does this mad man want her or her money? Can Ben and Abby overcome the obstacles placed in their way and find true love along the way?