Joanna Daniels is a widow who wants a father for her son. Tem Lovell is a widower hoping to find a mother for his children. They are perfect for each other except for one thing: she's a destitute English gentlewoman who is being courted by a wealthy lord, while Tem is a Gypsy laborer who lives hand-to-mouth.
As the ardor she shares with Tem grows stronger, Joanna is forced to decide between the financial security the cold and controlling lord can provide and the uncertainty of the open road coupled with the passionate love Tem feels for herthat is, if Tem is willing to take an English gentlewoman as his bride.