It's 1905 and the new century overflows with opportunities for the smart, the strong, the confident, and the determined. All words that describe Hope Birdwell to a T. Her first twenty years had their share of trouble and torment, but she's certain the next twenty hold only promise. Hope leaves a sordid past behind and heads for Wyoming to take up homesteading. Never mind that she's alone in the world and has never known a real home in her whole life. Her name is Hope, after all, so what could possibly go wrong? Well, maybe the long reach of perverted violence from a brute she would rather forget could get in the way of her dreams. Maybe the warmly distracting appeal of friends and community could compromise her independence. Maybe the loving attention of a handsome young man with the unnerving ability to change her opinions about true freedom could cause her to falter. Maybe. Hope Birdwell knows she is poised at the edge of a bright future, if only she can protect herself and the people she's grown to love from the dark and deadly menace of her past. Maybe that means she'll have to risk everything she's dreamed about and planned for and maybe she won't succeed. Maybe she's gone too long without the truth. Maybe. Hope Birdwell will discover some surprising truths in the wilds of Wyoming. That there's danger in deception, freedom in sacrifice, and a cost to love. Hard and painful lessons, every one of them, for a modern, single-minded girl. But she's not one to give up on her dreams no matter what-and her name is Hope, after all.