When her pastor arrives at her doorstep with David Harper, a stranger looking for work, the young widow, Rachel Miller, agrees to provide room and board in exchange for help on her farm in Missouri. David prepares to travel with the 1843 wagon train across the Oregon Trail and proposes marriage to Rachel. Her decision to accept is based on her need for a husband and a father for her three young children.
Can Rachel overcome her guilt at re-marrying so soon after her husband's death? How will the children feel about accepting a new father they barely know?
The hardships of the journey west can either bring the couple together or destroy hopes of ever having a marriage based on love.