Life isn't the bright future Maggie imagined when she married Justin Bailey on the spur of the moment three years before. His lack of integrity and ambition, and his frequent infidelities and physical abuse make the marriage impossible. When Maggie follows her friend's suggestion and she move onto her friend's widowed brother's ranch to work as his cook and housekeeper, Justin tracks her down there. When he shows up at the ranch requesting Maggie give him money to feed the monkey on his back, he causes her to fall down the stairs and she delivers their second child, the culmination of Justin's brutal rape, prematurely. In his inebriated panic to leave the scene of the accident, Justin tears across the desert like a maniac and crashes his car into a ravine, leaving Maggie a widow. When Maggie falls in love with her employer, Todd will not allow their relationship to develop out of loyalty to his lifelong friend Craig, whom he discovers loves Maggie as well. Her life appears on hold until an escaped convict comes into the picture and Maggie finds herself knocking at death's door. When Craig realizes that Todd loves Maggie, and Maggie loves Todd, he steps aside and encourages Todd to marry her. Is the red sky of the Arizona sunset an indication that there will be clear sailing ahead for her after she and Todd are married and he adopts her daughters?