Colette has loved Manason since childhood. But as a woman in a land where lumber barons rule private empires, her vow is to his enemy.

Lumberman's daughter, Collete Palmer has always loved timber cruiser Manason Kade — even though he only remembers her as a child. Leaving Michigan to settle with her family in the Wisconsin wilderness and separated from him by miles and years, compassion and a broken heart compel her to marry another.

Manason longs to plant roots of his own in Wisconsin Territory. But when his new Kade Forest Works challenges the illegal log harvesting of a rival company, Colette's husband will stop at nothing to ruin him. Logging enterprises collide as the territory nears statehood. Then one day Manason and Colete meet again. Now, she will have to choose between her first love and her commitment to her marriage vows, while her faith and an empire in pine hang in the balance.