Abby and Hoyt agree to run a seemingly mundane errand for Tom Davidson that ends up exposing just how far the Davidson influence goes. Kate uses the annual Founders Day festivities to disrupt the town's balance of power while Kai gets an unexpected visitor from his past. Meanwhile, Lucia and Calian help each other navigate the pressures of their respective families.
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.