Andre Allaire moves his fragile wife, Lily, to Iowa's Northwest Frontier in 1856, hoping the fresh prairie air will cure Lily's consumption. The couple hopes to establish a prosperous farm in the incredibly fertile soil of Iowa's Great Lakes area. Instead, tragedy strikes the following spring when a rogue band of Indians sweeps through the settlement while Andre is away purchasing provisions. The Red Top Wahpekute band massacres forty people, including Lily.

Rayna MacPherson, oldest daughter of the general store manager in Fort Dodge, Iowa, is immediately attracted to the tall, dark-haired man from the Spirit Lake Settlement. She meets him on a cold day in March 1857 as Andre is buying supplies after a long, severe winter. While they're talking, three men barge into the store with news about Indian trouble along the Little Sioux River. Andre immediately expresses concern for his wife, and Rayna is ashamed that she has allowed herself to be attracted to a married man.

A few days later, Fort Dodge is filled with commotion when they learn about a massacre at the Lakes. Rayna's father invites Andre to stay at their house while Major Williams of Fort Dodge assembles a rescue force of a hundred soldiers and volunteers to go to the Spirit Lake Settlement, search for survivors, and bury the dead. Rayna longs to comfort Andre in his agony of worry, guilt, and grief, but she doesn't know how. Will Andre ever recover from his loss?

The Gift of Love brings to life characters, both real and imaginary, who rise above the 1857 tragedy to establish a county on Iowa's Northwest Frontier.