After fleeing Virginia, Temperance Tucker's family established an inn on the Shawnee River. It's a welcome way station for settlers and frontiersmen traveling through the wild Cumberland region of Kentucke -- men like Sion Morgan, a Virginia surveyor who arrives with his crew looking for an experienced guide. When Tempe appears, Sion balks. He certainly didn't expect a woman. But before long he must admit that her skill in the wilderness rivals his own. Still, their tenuous tie is put to the test as they encounter danger after danger.