South Carolina, 1765. A group of wealthy young friends. A colony terrorized by outlaws. A young woman obsessed.

Jessie, the youngest of the group of friends from the Carolina Lowcountry, is a spoiled, passionate girl determined to have her own way and marry Robbie Stewart, who still sees her as the tag-along pest of their childhood. Her every waking thought is focused on making him to see her as a woman, and in her dreams, he belongs to her.

Robbie is the eldest of the group and the heir to Brianag, his uncle's plantation, and he is far too occupied with tormenting the agents responsible for enforcing the Stamp Act and helping his deceased father's family defend themselves against outlaws in the Backcountry to pay any attention to Jessie, except when he finds an opportunity to tease her.

As unrest builds in the colonies, and the outlaws continue their rampages in the mountains, Jessie learns that the world is bigger than youthful desire and that choices made impetuously are followed inevitably by consequences—some of which are irreparable.