Young school Mistress Hallie Donahoe’s life in the backwoods beyond the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia changes in one tragic moment the day her beloved mother, father, and their home are swept away by a flash flood. Weeks later, she is whisked away to live with a close friend of her father’s, who has two daughters of his own. Suddenly, she finds herself in genteel Virginia society and exposed to the growing tensions in the pre-Revolution American colonies in 1775.

Exploring an old horse path one day, Hallie discovers a charming place she learns is called Little Eden. The owner is none other than an intriguing rogue she was introduced to at a roadside inn by her new guardian, Morley Chewning. The mysterious Zechariah Bishop has a woman ensconced in his guest house, while his two young nieces share his magnificent home. But just who is Wilhelmina? And who are the redcoat officers visiting Father Chewning? Little by little, Hallie is drawn first to the house and its magical grounds, then to the darling nieces, and then overwhelmingly to Zechariah. But can she trust Zechariah with her heart?