Larissa and Ethan's marriage has combined their families. Now they must cope with one of the most difficult assignments given a parent: stand aside and allow their rapidly coming-of-age children the freedom to forge their own destinies. Larissa's son Mac, now a full-fledged doctor, plans to marry Amity Terrill and return from Philadelphia to Fairvale to practice medicine in his hometown. Ethan's daughter Charity has loved Mac since she was five years old. Unable to accept his intention to marry Amity, Charity leaves home to teach school in far off Wyoming Territory. Through drought, blizzards, and an encounter with a rattlesnake, Charity learns that, unlike the snake's ability to slough its skin, she cannot shed the pieces of her past, her present ... or her heart.