After leaving a secluded convent, fragile and inexperienced Mary Dennehy finds herself face to face with the dangers of the wider world, not the least of which is the harsh Ryder Mackay, who has been declared an outlaw. Mary, confident of Ryder's innocence, saves him from the gallows. But the saved one does not at all intend to let go and lose the one in whom for him lies the almost lost hope of finding happiness...