Pioneering Western writer Bertha Muzzy Bower was herself the wife of a Montana rancher for a time, so she brings a wealth of personal experience and psychological insight to this gripping narrative that follows protagonist Valeria as she enters into marriage and struggles with the often-harsh reality of rural life. Val is cast into circumstances that test her temper, strength, and sanity. One of her few contacts with the outside world is a friend of her husbands whom she despises. Their relationship gradually changes as her husbands true character is slowly revealed to her. Kent watches Val very closely as she struggles with poverty and a drunken husband. He knows Val is worthy of more than her husband can give. Is he the man to do it?