Determined to escape her horrible life in Ohio, Samantha Perry agrees to marry a man looking for a mail-order bride to join him in the Yukon where he is panning for gold. But she quickly learns, upon her arrival in the far north, Joel Houseman is not the man she expected him to be. Joel hides his secrets, and his reasons for wanting her to become his bride seem to have nothing to do with love. The fierce weather, the harsh conditions, and lies urge her to flee. Her heart longs to stay when Joel's hard exterior begins to fall away, and she sees the man he tries to hide. But he has lied to her before. Can she believe him now and find a love more precious than gold?