When city girl Emily Prescott answers an ad for a live-in nanny at the Blackwater Ranch, she expects toddlers and tantrums. Instead, she finds herself wrangling the reckless adult children of John Cole - a rugged, reclusive rancher with a heart as hard as the Montana mountains. John is convinced Emily won't last the winter, and he's not afraid to tell her so.

But when a massive blizzard traps them together, the icy distance between the grumpy cowboy and the determined sunshine nanny begins to melt. Emily discovers the broken man beneath the gruff exterior, and John finds himself drawn to the one woman brave enough to challenge him.

As the snow piles up, so does the heat. But John is haunted by his past and convinced he's too old and damaged for a fresh start. Can Emily prove that love is worth the risk, or will the ghosts of the ranch keep them apart forever?