A journalist and who adopted a troubled teen, Madison Wade has tackled many challenges—but never one like this. Leaving Philadelphia for a small town to give her son a better life, she's now in a tightly knit community that won't accept her big-city ways and Ethan's less-than- perfect past. When finally, he's invited on a camping trip, it turns into a nightmare – and Ethan is suspected of a violent crime.

Sheriff Gabe Wyatt doesn't want to believe this kid is guilty. He’s falling in love with Ethan's beautiful, sophisticated, and generous mother, the first woman who has ever awakened the tender side of this tough lawman. But he can’t ignore evidence, even if it keeps him from getting close to the woman he longs to protect, even if it drives this fierce mother to find the criminal herself. Then one terrible night, the villain will find her... and Maddie Wade will come face-to-face with her darkest fears.