Abby navigates the unforgiving frontier justice system and her complicated feelings for Tom Davidson as she throws herself into defending a case with life-or-passing consequences. Calian confronts painful memories to free himself of guilt, Gus weighs a friendship against his badge, Hoyt and Lucia must come to terms with an immeasurable loss, and Kate is faced with a choice after uncovering corruption in an unexpected place.
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.