To honor her father's dying wish, Glynette, a beautiful, talented young woman from the East, marries Anniston McCrae, an ambitious army captain who intends to make a name for himself in the West.

She solemnly resolves to love Captain McCrae and be the wife he wants, but after joining him at Fort Reynolds in northern Montana, she realizes she has no taste for Anniston's ruthless social climbing and political scheming. She begins to fear her marriage was a mistake. Worse, she comes to fear Anniston, who now regards her with contempt and views her as a political liability.

Isolated, lonely, and afraid, Glynette comes to depend on Corporal Thomas Flint, the striker assigned to assist her in her day to day activities at the fort. As her husband becomes more distant, Glynette realizes that Tom is everything that Anniston is not: thoughtful, kind, gentle.

As Anniston's behavior toward Glynette becomes more and more hateful, Tom knows that her life might be in danger. Fueled by more than casual concern, Tom risks his own life and career to help the woman he can't help but love.