After losing her husband and children to typhoid, Summer Steadman lacks the desire to forge ahead to Oklahoma. Instead she seeks employment in the small Mennonite community of Gaeddert, Kansas, to be near the graves of her family. Widower Peter Ollenberger, the local gristmill owner, needs someone to teach his son. When he hears of a "learned woman" in town, he believes she is the answer to his prayers, despite the fact that he faces censure for helping an "outsider." There is next to nothing Peter will not do for his son. But when the boy begins looking at Summer as more than a teacher, Peter battles with himself. Does he marry this woman to give his son a new mother, or does he marry only for love?...

England-born Emmaline Bradford pledged her life to Geoffrey Garrett and then bid him farewell when he sailed to America. Although Geoffrey anticipated only a short separation, several years passed before he was able to send for Emmaline. By then the fiery flame of her youthful love had all but died. Shocked by the conditions on Geoffrey's Kansas sheep ranch, Emmaline wishes to return to England immediately. Geoffrey offers a compromise: If Emmaline promises to stay until spring, he'll pay her return fare if she decides to go back to her home country. When spring arrives, will Emmaline return to England, or will she marry Geoffrey and carve out a life with him in Kansas?...

After his graduation from college, Thomas Ollenburger is filled with big dreams and many questions. What will he do for a career? Should he marry? Where will he call home? Torn between his Mennonite roots on the Kansas prairie and his love for the big city of Boston, as well as his affection for a girl in each location, Thomas is unsure of his place in the world. He has always sought God's leading in his decision-making, but now it seems as if God is staying silent. Has Thomas's heart led him astray?...

After enduring a depression and drought, Anna Mae Phipps and her husband, Harley, can barely feed the two daughters they have--how will they afford another baby? Though Anna Mae is furious when Harley sells the mules and takes a job building a castle in another part of Kansas with the Works Progress Administration, she eventually realizes it was their only hope. But when no letters arrive from Harley, Anna Mae fears her husband may be gone for good. The drought has stolen everything from her--will it take Harley, too?...

Three orphaned immigrant children are separated, but long to find each other again....