Five years after the woman Saul had expected to spend his life with rejected him and married a wealthy Santa Fe businessman, he meets the spinster who just opened a bookstore in his town. Undeniably, the lady is not his type, but something about her keeps drawing him back to her shop. Could it be their common enjoyment of dime novels filled with action and adventure, or something more? Saul's life is about to become complicated when the woman who rejected him, now a widow, moves back to town and sets her sights on him.

Moving to Cielo Azul is a dream come true for Grace Hillsdale. After searching for the perfect town to open a bookstore, but also quench her loneliness, she believes she's finally achieved her goal. The town, now connected via shortline railroad to Santa Fe, has transformed from a stagecoach stop into a thriving population of businesses, ranchers, farmers, and most importantly, families. During her initial visit she spied a cowboy who embodied the essence of the "Wild West" of New Mexico Territory, and is thrilled when he begins visiting her bookstore. Soon they become friends. Only in her thoughts, however, does she affectionately dub him as "her cowboy." She's convinced he could never see her as anyone other than a friend.