Marty Claridge has just moved out to the West with her husband Aaron Claridge, who dies in a riding accident shortly after. Expecting her late husband's baby, Marty has nowhere to go and needs a place to stay through the winter. Desperate, she accepts the proposal offered by widower Clark. Clark offers to give her a place to stay for the winter and provide her with the fare for the wagon train heading back East in the spring. In exchange, Marty agrees to marry Clark and provide a maternal influence for his young daughter Missie. Since the marriage is in name only, the pair keep separate quarters. Initially, it is not an ideal arrangement for any of them, and Missie resents Marty for attempting to encourage more feminine behavior from her. As winter passes, Marty learns more about "Clark's God" than she ever dreamed and an affectionate bond develops between her and Missie, allowing them all to begin to feel more like a family. Marty and Clark finally come to realize this