Laney Frank wants love, marriage and a happy life. She thinks she has found all three when she falls head over heels in love with Jessie McCann. She does her best to convince her family and friends that Jessie is the right man for her, but they sense he is not who he seems. Regardless of their pessimism, Laney marries Jessie and soon discovers her family and friends were right all along. Not only has Laney married an alcoholic, she has married a monster.

Jessie soon becomes abusive, continually making Laney feel useless and weak. Whats more, she begins to suspect he married her not for love, but for the money she stood to inherit from her father. Follow this heart wrenching journey that transforms Laney from victim to victor when she realizes she has a choice to live a life free from fear and violence, and travels west to find it.