George covers his fear of loss by trying to be as much of a man as he can.
As a boy, he lost his mother and feels like itās his fault. He doesnāt want to find a wife, she would be just another woman for him to lose. When he seeks the attention of the new poetry teacher, itās only to have a good story to tell the other hands. Unfortunately, every time he gets near her, he canāt think of anything but poetry.
Phoebe Root believes if she doesnāt spread a love of poetry, the art will die.
When a cowboy casually enters her class and shocks her with his reaction to her poetry, she canāt give up on him.
An illness settles over Belle Fourche, as dangerous as the one that took Georgeās mother. Will he let her go to avoid another loss, or hold tight and claim his first love?