Abby is joined by rough and tumble outlaw Hoyt and Apache scout, Calian, when she revisits the tragic site of her life's demise in search of clues to help uncover the cold-blooded hugger hiding in town. Meanwhile, new Sheriff Tom Davidson, and the town's loyal Deputy, Augustus, are determined to track down the "mysterious" man responsible for the recent bank robbery. Kate badgers Hagan into doing the right thing, and Lucia finds a new friend - and discovers a surprising talent - in Kai. As Abby says a final farewell to her old life and "what might have been" she begins to embrace a new start in Independence while she, Calian, and Hoyt hatch a plan to bring the real enemy to justice... but how close is she willing to get?
In the late 1800s, Abby Walker embarks on a journey out west with her husband Liam, when her husband is cuddled before her eyes. After crossing paths with Calian, a curious Apache tracker, Abby arrives in the town of Independence, Texas, where she encounters diverse and eclectic residents running from their pasts, chasing their dreams, and keeping their own secrets, including Kate Carver, an idiosyncratic burlesque dancer with perhaps too keen an interest in Abby's origins, and Kai, a soulful Chinese immigrant who runs a local restaurant/laundry and offers Abby friendship without agenda. Abby also literally runs into Hoyt Rawlins, a slippery rogue, thief and con artist with a dented heart of gold who quickly eyes Abby as a mark, until she turns the tables on him. Abby and Hoyt soon find themselves precariously aligned, both seeking to uncover the truth about the identity of Abby's husband's hugger, and vow to save Independence - a frontier boomtown where nothing is what it seems.