In 1886, Ida Lapp, a plucky Pennsylvania woman, secretly loves an Englisher, something forbidden by the Amish Ordnung. When discovered by her parents, her penalty forever changes her life and sends her on a journey to face persecution, at the same time she desires the impossible-to return home to a family who despises her.

On an Iowa farm, Anna dies and leaves Joseph Melroy with the daunting task of raising two small children. Faced with the heartache of losing his wife, looming financial troubles, and a promise he is loathe to keep, he must do something he'd not thought possible in order to survive the attempts of the area's only unmarried woman to corral him before a preacher, and to do it before she ruins everything.

Ida seeks the job to care for Joseph's youngsters and discovers that only a marriage to the English outsider can extract her from a homeless situation. She acquiesces to a loveless union on the condition she can walk away.

Immersed into a local setting where few people comprehend her Amish background, she endures whispers, side-glances, and outright hatred from the town's gossip who claims matrimonial rights to Joseph. The woman learns of the late night wedding, and spews her venom against Ida.

Shunned by her family, and circumventing barbs by those who don't approve of her, Ida must navigate the corridors of a vastly different culture. Will she stick with Joseph? Will Joseph save the farm? Will Ida return home to parents who want nothing to do with her?