k. l. noble

Alexandria Horne discovers strength and courage she never realized she had when her wagon train is attacked by Mexican bandits and her husband, Wesley, is taken from her. She is left for dead amidst the bodies and debris of everything that was so dear to her. When she would have given up, she remembers Wesley's child growing withing her womb and she heads out on her own to find shelter. However, when she is trapped in the Rockies in a snow storm, she must use all her ingenuity and new found knowledge to survive the winter until the snow melts. While she is setting a trap in her search for food, she is nearly killed by a mountain lion, but an unexpected hero saves her life. Walker, chief of the Utes, delivers her to the Salt Lake Valley. She is taken in by a good Mormon family and she never expects to see Walker again, but as fate would have it, the Utes begin war with the Mormons as they take more and more land. By this time, Alex has settled in a small cabin of her own outside of town near the mouth of the canyon and this is where Walker finds her again, but instead of attacking, he orders his men to stay back as he confronts her alone. Thus begins a forbidden romance that leads to Alex being ostracized by her own people. Because of her great love for Walker, she decides to leave her life, everything familiar to her and go with him deep into the wilderness where they will be able to live in peace. On the day of their departure, Wesley, who has been held captive as a slave for an embittered Don, finally escapes and tracks down his wife and the child he never knew he had. Now, Alex must make the most difficult decision of her life.