Thaddeus Nolan is the quintessential alpha male. Drop a pampered rich girl into the Australian outback, add a healthy dose of male sex appeal with no time or patience for the demands of a woman wearing high heels, and you either get a serious battle of wills or a firestorm of chemistry. A mix-up in travel plans thrusts Chelsea Bowden of Boston into the midst of a group of uncouth men set to journey through the Australian desert, guided by the disturbingly attractive Thaddeus Nolan. Expecting the amenities of a posh Sydney hotel suite, Chelsea finds herself instead having to bear up to the rigors of a life that is altogether unfamiliar to her. She suffers the swarming flies, punishing heat, masses of mosquitoes, and a backside bruised from being forced to travel by camel, yet still the desert manages to captivate her with its beauty and mystery. Under a relentless sun, through the trials of an unforgiving land, she comes to know herself like never before. And she realizes that she is engaged to the wrong man. It's Thaddeus Nolan she wants, the rugged outdoorsman who doesn't fit into her circle of society.