It's spring of 1867, and Lucy Cavanagh-NYC heiress, literary lover, and dreamer-is taking the biggest risk of her life. She's left everything behind to journey west, in the hopes of reconnecting with the only person who can answer questions that have haunted her since her mother's death, answers that may help her discover who she is. But halfway to San Francisco, her stagecoach is attacked and Lucy finds herself the sole survivor of a massacre.

After days left alone in the wilderness of Colorado Territory, armed only with a gun, she finds hope in the form of a lone rider-Will Shanks, leader of the most notorious outlaw gang in the west. Together, they head for Denver on horseback. But when a violent storm brews, Lucy and Will come across Valley City, the destination of the Holloways, a young newlywed couple who died in the stagecoach massacre. Hoping only for shelter from the storm, Lucy and Will are mistaken for the Holloways and welcomed with open arms.

As greater danger unfolds and she learns Will's reasons for his final heist, Lucy becomes inextricably weaved into his world and the lives of the townspeople, who embrace her so unconditionally. As the lines between pretend and reality are blurred and bounty hunters close in on them, Lucy begins to discover a courage she never knew she had and must decide for herself who she is, and what it means to live bravely.