When Van Buren, Arkansas, is inundated with Forty-Niners seeking to outfit themselves with horses before heading west, Justin Hogue sees it as the perfect opportunity to step out of his father's shadow to establish a horse ranch. The same influx of prospectors ushers in a competitive horse trader who wants him out of the way. Further complicating things, Justin is challenged with a new tenant at the Hogue family boardinghouse.

Eliza Dawn is an independent, headstrong seamstress who claims to follow the prospectors west to sell her garments. Justin believes she's hiding something. After all, a few dollars for shirts isn't worth the risk. So, he keeps his distance until a mysterious letter and an intriguing ring unite them in searching for an unknown prospector.

Can they find one man in a thousand before the gold expeditions leave town? What will put Justin's dreams at greater risk-conflict with the horse trader or Eliza Dawn's secrets?