Orphaned at 13, a mail-order bride at 14, widowed at 16, Sarah Kennedy has learned to depend upon no one but herself, reserving all her love for her younger brother, Conner, and for the wounded hawks she heals and returns to the air.

Personal tragedy has taught Case Maxwell to love nothing that can die, and that justice is blind. But when a confrontation with his sworn enemies, the Culpepper clan, leaves the hardened Civil War veteran near death, Case finds himself under the tender, unwanted care of Sarah Kennedy.

Destiny has brought the healer and the warrior together - two souls haunted by the bitter ghosts of the past - to brave chilling risks and dangerous truths as they seek the courage to face the greatest risk of all: love.