Orphaned after her mother's death, eighteen-year-old Esther Chambers heads west in search of her only living relative. In the lawless frontier town of Century, Oregon, she's met by distant cousin Ferris Pickett. The laconic cattle rancher leads her to a tiny cabin by a small lake, where Esther begins her new life as a homesteader. If she can hold out for five years, the land will join Pick's impressive spread. But this town on the edge of civilization is in the midst of range war, and Esther discovers her sympathies are divided.