Mia Grant, a one-time pop star, still bears emotional scars caused by a stalker who terrorized her for years—a person she inadvertently welcomed into her inner circle. She has come a long way in learning to manage the crippling fear and anxiety his savage attack left her with, and she books into River’s Sigh B & B to begin the grueling task of what she hopes will be the final step in her recovery. Determined to reclaim her old independence and sense of adventure and possibility, she vows to never let anyone get close enough to fool or injure her again.

The disfiguring scars on Gray Robertson’s body are nothing compared to those marring his damaged heart and psyche. A loner by nature, the brutal murder of his young wife and son made him a hermit. He lives off-grid in the wilderness of northern Canada with only his dog for company, finding isolation far easier to survive than loving people and having them torn away.

When his closest neighbor, Jo at River’s Sigh B & B, ropes him into giving self-defense lessons to some washed up musician, Gray figures it’s a safe way to make a bit of cash to see him through winter.

As Mia and Gray get to know each other, neither are prepared for the tumultuous, conflicting emotions that leave them reeling. In him, a convoluted mix of desire, protectiveness, and misplaced fury. In her, a complex stew of appreciation, longing, and apprehension.

Then a foolish decision puts Mia’s life in peril and forces questions she and Gray are both scared to answer. Can love heal old wounds, or are they too damaged to risk further hurt?