After a brutal attack, Jessie Pringle moved to the small mountain town of Pine Creek, Maine, to start over. But she never expected to meet Ian MacKeage, who had seemingly stepped right out of the Scottish Highlands. As drawn to Ian as he is to her, Jessie finds it more and more difficult to deny her own desires.

Then, on one of her long walks through the wilderness, she meets a kindly hermit who sells her a walking stick-one imbued with a magic that may allow Jessie to finally be rid of the pain of her past, and build a future with Ian.