He’s a rugged rancher hiding treason; she’s a physician hiding her brilliance. Their secrets are about to collide in a snowbound town.

Abigail Prescott is a woman running from ruin. A brilliant physician in 1890 Connecticut, her forbidden skill saved a boy’s life but made her a criminal in the eyes of her rigid town. Desperate for a fresh start, she trades her prestigious education for a remote marriage, becoming a mail-order bride to a stranger in the Montana Territory.

In Elkhorn, Montana, Finn O’Brien is a rugged, solitary Irish rancher. He seeks a wife, not a lover, praying only for a suitable partner to share the vast, lonely life he has built while concealing a devastating family secret—a legacy of wartime betrayal that could destroy everything he owns.

When Abigail arrives days before Christmas, a furious blizzard and surging floodwaters cut the town in half, leaving her stranded and forcing the couple apart. Separated by the treacherous Elkhorn River, their marriage of convenience is put on hold.

But when a deadly illness sweeps through Elkhorn, Abigail can no longer hide her forbidden talent. As she fights to save the sick, she catches the eye of a handsome widower and ignites the malicious fury of the town’s most vicious gossip.

Now, Finn must race the elements and the clock, desperate to cross the ice and claim his resourceful bride, before she falls to the relentless rumors… or a rival’s affections.

He needs a wife. She needs freedom. But will a desperate Christmas wedding be enough to protect their fragile future from the secrets they both carry?

A gripping historical Western romance about forced proximity, hidden identity, and a rugged rancher determined to protect the courageous woman God sent to him for Christmas.