This is the story of a girl who looked on marriage as a release—an insurance against boredom and loneliness. Hounded by a stern, old-fashioned father, chafing at the monotony of life around Treehaven, the small California ranch where she lived, Cynthia Trezavant longed to escape and have a life of her own.

Guy Waring, an artist staying near by, was the man she loved, and when he suggested that they run away together, she was happy to agree. Then it happened—the terrible thing that made it impossible for them to be married. Heartsick and desperate, Cynthia turned to Jim Fowler, a guide from the mountains. She could not love him as she had Guy, but he was strong and handsome, and she thought that she could make him a good wife.

It was not long before she discovered that marriage was not always the free, happy relationship she had fancied, and she began to think that perhaps she was still in love with Guy. Things drifted from bad to worse until a near tragedy revealed her husband's true devotion to her and showed her where her heart really belonged.