From an aristocratic Boston family, Helene Lamont was married in a lavish wedding at the same time she realized her groom, Phillip Drummond, was not the man she wanted to marry. A bit late, her infuriated groom snapped as he realized his trophy wife was about to turn into a disaster to his reputation as a business wunderkind. Helene heads for her uncle's ranch in Montana where she finds her deceased aunt's journal has been left for her. Why does she need it? Her aunt and uncle had the perfect marriage, didn't they? As Helene settles into ranch life, her peace is disrupted by the arrival of Phillip, who her uncle had invited to come west also and work on the ranch. At first Phillip resisted the idea of being a dude in a foreign environment, but he is angry that his own hard-won toughness has not been recognized by his runaway bride. He has come to win her love-well, actually love wasn't on the agenda he hoped to win. This is a story of the West as it was and is, about ranching life, and about two stories of love, one revealed through the journal and the other the modern couple who find what they thought they wanted wasn't necessarily what they needed. The climax is a battle against nature in the raw. 92,157 words re-edited and new cover