There is more to twenty-six-year-old Elliot Timberlake than most people realize. Fresh out of law school, he is a handsome bachelor who keeps busy working at a saw mill in Eldsboro, Ohio, and tending his property. But when a strikingly beautiful woman makes an appearance one day while he is working in his garden, Elliot feels an immediate connection. Elliot is so distracted by his infatuation with Lily Owens that he nearly runs over his villainous boss, Daniel Felton, who already has it out for him. Several weeks later, Elliot and Lily finally see each other again at a party, where he discovers she is Felton’s date—and terrified of him to boot. Felton is a jealous man who makes it known she is his prized possession. But when a fire leads to a suspicious death in the local school, Elliot and Lily are propelled into the midst of a complicated investigation that leaves Felton’s character in question. Will they ever be able to take their relationship to the next level? In this tale of murder, mystery, and romance, a young saw mill worker’s life is transformed after he meets a beautiful woman and is thrust down a new path to what he hopes is a happily-ever-after.