1907. A gold mining town in northern California is hardly the place for a member of the English aristocracy. When Lady Serena Buxton arrives in Cold Creek, she is shocked to find her husband, Lord Buxton, is missing. Everyone in town treats her as if she is already a widow. With no husband and no money, what is a lady to do? 1913. Lord and Lady Buxton's orderly lives are upset by Pinkerton Agent Stuart Montgomery's unexpected arrival at their estate in England. Montgomery is investigating suspicious deaths at an American aviation company. Will the Buxtons return with him to America and help him close the case? Or is this an excuse for Montgomery to renew a potentially scandalous association with Serena? 1918. Lord Randolph Buxton is fighting at the front during the closing months of World War 1. Lady Serena manages Buxton Hall which has been converted into a military hospital. When Randolph is reported missing in action, Serena is heartbroken but carries on with day-to-day duties while she awaits news of her husband. And then Randolph comes home. She married for love, but she does not know the man who returns to her. Will she be strong enough to hold together everything she most cherishes?