Visiting in her fiancée's home, Marina Scott is suffocating under the watchful eye of her future mother-in- law. While the family enjoys a siesta, Marina goes for an unaccompanied ride and loses control of her mount. A handsome cowboys rescues her. She and Ward Dillon fall in love at first sight. The only problem is Marina is engaged to Ward's brother, Ramon! Marina calls off the wedding but an obsessive and jealous Ramon takes matters into his own hands. Luisa Dillon, who loathes Ward as much as she loves his brother, is a brilliant strategist. She concocts a series of lies that drive Marina and Ward apart. Ward flees to the war, leaving his new bride behind. He has no way of knowing his family's dark secret, the source of his mother's hatred, or that Marina is pregnant.

Seven years later Marina comes to the Maxwell ranch to convince Ward to give her a divorce so she can remarry and give her son a father. All the old pain and anger resurfaces, each feeling betrayed by the other. Believing Marina's son to be his brother's child, Ward refuses to give her a divorce because he wants the boy to have his rightful name. Unable to convince Ward that Tanner is his child, Marina wants a complete break from the family that came so close to destroying her life. But it's Tanner, the little boy who longs for the return of a father his mother told him is a hero, who helps tear down the barriers between Ward and Marina.