Determined to ignore the attraction between them, schoolteacher Lark Morgan and Marshal Rowdy Rhodes, both of whom are hiding dark secrets, form a tentative alliance when the past collides with the present.

Arizona Ranger Sam O'Ballivan, posing as a schoolmaster to control the rough ranchers' children who attend the school, finds himself distracted by Maddie, the lovely sister of one of his worst students, who runs the local mercantile.

A hungry attraction. A hidden enemy. Devoted defense lawyer Clare Westbrook, used to working for others, can now call the shots on her own terms. A multi-million-dollar inheritance from the father she never knew has allowed her to start her own practice. And with her teenage niece, Emma, whom she's raised as a daughter, on a school trip to Europe, Clare has been able to focus on turning a storefront in a tough Phoenix neighborhood into the legal firm...

Like his celebrated ancestors who tamed the wilds of Arizona, Jesse McKettrick's Indian Rock ties run deep. The Triple M Ranch is in his blood, along with the thrill of risk. But his land is a stake.