When survival demands courage, love offers hope.

New York, 1865. With her brother dead and creditors closing in, Ivy Gallagher faces a stark choice: stay in Five Points and risk everything—or board a train west to marry a man she's never met.

Colorado Territory. Cormac Burke isn't looking for love. What he needs is a partner—someone willing to share the burden of a remote ranch and the brutal winter ahead. His letter to the matchmaker is plainspoken: no promises beyond respect, shelter, and honest work.

What begins as a practical arrangement slowly transforms. Amid the snow-capped peaks and harsh beauty of the frontier, Ivy finds not just purpose, but belonging. Yet shadows from her past aren't finished with her. When a violent man comes calling—claiming Ivy as payment for her brother's betrayal—she and Cormac must stand together or risk losing everything.

In a land where survival depends on trust, can two wounded hearts build a future from the ashes of the past?

A sweeping tale of resilience, redemption, and the healing power of chosen family—set against the untamed beauty of post-Civil War Colorado.