Are some people born to lose? Tommy Medlin, a grown man who is still called Pretty Boy, a nickname he loathes, is as handsome as he is shy. All his life, he’s been told he is slow, and he’s long since accepted that it’s true. His lot in life is to keep his head down, work hard, collect his pay and save some of it. It’s not much of a life, but it’s the only one afforded him.

Emeline Wright fears she’s cursed, with good reason. Orphaned as a girl, some of the family she’s sent to live with made her life a living hell. She eagerly left to attend college but, there, she falls prey to the powerful Sonny Peterson. Em, risks life and limb to escape him and return home to Green Valley, Virginia — the place she wanted so badly to get away from. Her only choice now is to make a go of her uncle’s failing farm. But can a woman alone survive in rough country?

When Tommy, with his quiet strength and unflagging honor, steps in to help her, a powerful bond is created. Through his constancy, Em begins to trust again. But the country is still wild and dangerous and more than one predator stalks ever closer…