Hannah is a fifteen-year-old Amish girl who lives on her family's farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. When her family, hit hard by the Great Depression, loses their farm, Hannah's father decides it's time for a fresh start. Destitute but inspired by grand plans and dreams of a better future west of Lancaster, he loads his family and what little they have left into their covered wagon.

They settle in North Dakota, hundreds of miles from any Amish community. Hannah's mother does her best to be a good wife, supporting her husband as they try to build a new life in a wholly unfamiliar place.

Things aren't going quite as Hannah's father had imagined--his visions of success are shattered by the reality that his knowledge of farming in Lancaster isn't of much use in Midwestern soil. With the fields barren and her family on the verge of starvation, Hannah decides to take matters into her own hands. She goes into town looking for a job and finds one at a cattle ranch, where she meets charismatic ranch hand Clay Jenkins.

Clay is drawn to the independent, strong-willed newcomer. As they work together at the ranch, Hannah grapples with her own feelings for Clay, an English boy. Her life is more uncertain than ever. With Hannah's help, will her family get back on their feet and prosper in North Dakota? And what will happen with Clay Jenkins?