Emma and Joe's daughter, Rachael Rivers, has returned to Austin to teach school after training for three years in St. Louis. In 1845, as Texas moves toward statehood, the Texas Rangers try to keep order. But one Ranger, the cruel and crooked Jason Brown, is more interested in having his way with the proper young schoolteacher.

Brand Selby is a half-Comanche, half-white rancher with a small spread just north of Austin. From the moment he sees Rachael, he knows he wants nothing other than to win her heart. But hatred for the Indians runs deep in these parts, where renegade Comanches as well as outlaws and unscrupulous Comancheros still run wild and lawless.

When Rachael rebuffs the advances of the Texas Ranger, he vows revenge. But Rachael and Brand's love has already been sealed, and not even the prospect of Rachael being cast out from her own kind, nor the threat of violence against Brand, can extinguish the flames of desire in their hearts.