Melody Jordan, 18, would rather pack her bags and head back to Virginia than marry a man she doesn't love. But her father is dead and she can't leave her stepmother and two young half-brothers to fend for themselves while rustlers steal their cattle and the nearest rancher tries to steal their ranch. Lantz Royal has made it clear he intends to get the Spring Water Ranch one way or another. Which means Melody either has to marry the man or get ready to put up the fight of her life. Ignoring the advice of her foreman, Melody has been managing the ranch since the death of her father. She is desperate for help, but not desperate enough to hire Chet Attmore, a man with a gun riding on his hip. Chet Attmore, 29, is ready to hang up his guns and find a quiet place to settle down where no one knows him. He's only passing through and has no intentions of getting involved in the troubles of the Spring Water Ranch or the pretty young woman who lives there. Chet is not looking for employment; he only wants to trade his tired horse for a fresh one. Chet knows he's a gunfighter first and foremost, and that alone will prevent him from having the only kind of life he ever wanted. But all his good intentions are lost when he gets pulled into the fray. Soon he's in too deep to leave and his heart is hoping for things his mind knows he an never have.