After years of lowering herself to entertaining men for money, Melanie Brooks receives an opportunity to start a new life in Sterling Canyon, Texas. As she embarks on this new journey Melanie unexpectedly encounters an older man, Pappy Henderson, who patiently tries to teach her that nothing in her past is beyond God's mercy. When Nicholas Henderson first meets Melanie he's instantly taken by her no-nonsense way of handling the cowhands and her soft, womanly figure. However, after hearing of her sordid past he has a hard time seeing Melanie as anything but a tainted woman and attempts to extinguish his growing attraction for the gun-toting woman. Pappy Henderson's only desire in life is to do right by the two people he loves the most, his nephew Nicholas and his new ward Melanie. However this seems nearly impossible when his nephew's self-righteous attitude reinforces Melanie's belief that she is beyond salvation. Eyes are opened and hearts are revealed when calamity befalls Sterling Canyon's newest resident. As Melanie tries to ignore her battered heart she also struggles with the heavy responsibility of keeping her cowhands and new-found family safe from the predators of her past.