In 1905, Lottie Chase arrives in Denver with her ten-year-old daughter, Elsa, after fleeing her abusive uncle in New York. She secures a job at Elitch's Gardens, one of the city's new amusement parks. Everything would be perfect if it weren't for the garden manager, Caleb Hudson. Cared for by park co-owner Mary Elitch Long since he was a boy, Caleb is fiercely protective and fears that Lottie plans to take advantage of the Longs. But a series of dramatic events brings the two closer, and together they endure an attack on Lottie, extortion, and the arrival of Lottie's uncle. Lottie realizes the only way to save her relationship with Caleb and protect Elsa from her uncle is to face her past...