From a hasty union begun in shame, a young man and woman struggle to build a lasting love.

Following a brief romance with George Mackenzie, Blue Gap, North Carolina's most desirable suitor, Olivia Brooks finds herself abandoned and expecting a child. She is cast out of her father's house and hastily weds George's brother Luke, whom she has known since childhood. Luke hopes that giving his brother's child a name will prove his own worth and provide a home for the woman he has long admired.

Determined to make a fresh start, they set off for Laurel Grove, Tennessee, but an accident on an icy mountain road forces them to take refuge with a Quaker family in Sweetbriar Creek. As Olivia and Luke recover from their injuries and await the birth of the child, they must confront their past mistakes and make peace with old hurts and betrayals if they are ever to forge a proper marriage.