After her unexpected escape from enslavement, Martha Louis has finally found freedom in the community of Larksong in Washington Territory. When a declaration of love arrives from a most unlikely source, she dares to hope true happiness could be hers. Before she can embrace this life of her own, a child is stolen while under her care, forcing her outside Larksong's safe haven. To see this little one safely home, she will be asked to risk everything, including her heart.

For years, Garrett Lark's life centered around his own selfish interests. Cynicism fueled his departure off the straight and narrow into prodigal living. Then he met Martha, and the woman no one expected him to choose was the only one who motivated him to change. Now a successful hotel proprietor, he's ready to declare his intentions and settle down.

When Martha appears on his doorstep begging for help he can't provide, he seeks out an old friend at Sterling's Theatrical, a wholesome family circus with a backstage more sinister than San Francisco's lawless underbelly. Faced with the fire of past mistakes, the life he used to love could now cost him the love of his life.