Hoping to escape his past, Ethan Hardesty left a career as an architect and went to work for the railroad. Only two things impede his desire to transform Heartbreak Creek into a thriving town once again--a vandal bent on stopping the railroad, and the beautiful but hardheaded woman who won't sign over the final right-of-way through the canyon.

Audra Pearsall has good reason for not allowing a train to pass within yards of her home, no matter how persuasive the handsome Mr. Hardesty can be. But when vandalism escalates to murder and fear stalks the canyon, Audra doesn't know who to turn to--until the man she thought was her friend proves to be an enemy, and the man she wouldn't allow herself to trust becomes her reluctant hero...