Virginia Bellamy is an ambitious, well-to-do socialite who aspires to marry into Boston’s most elite social circles. But when she fails to attract a proposal that meets her high standards, she agrees to become the mail order bride to a wealthy Cheyenne businessman. He promises her a life of luxury and status. It appeals to her to be one of the most important families in the city - even if that city is Cheyenne.

Lewis Carlyle has worked tirelessly for fifteen years to amass a fortune. It was really all a means to an end - a foundation for the remarkable wife and happy family he hoped to have. But in the weeks before Virginia’s arrival, Lewis is besieged with the worst onslaught of bad fortune; Virginia arrives to find herself betrothed to a pauper.

It is a catastrophe of unimaginable magnitude on both sides. What can Lewis do to make amends for the unforgivable situation he has put Virginia in? Is the social hierarchy in Cheyenne as rigid and unforgiving as that of Boston? And most importantly, will it ever be possible for this determined social climber to love a man who has nothing to offer but his heart?