Gage Givens, who goes by the name Ridge, has lost his best friends in a buggy accident that appears to have been intentional. The couple leave behind their young daughter, five-year-old Bibi. As Bibi’s godfather, Ridge goes to the train depot to pick up her godmother, Honora Keane, who is expected to take the child home to Denver with her. To Ridge’s surprise, instead of stepping off the train, she comes from a flatcar driving an automobile, the first in the area.

He isn’t quite sure what to make of Honora. She’s single, a little flamboyant, a genuine individual who writes dime novels for a living, and a woman suffragist, God forbid. Despite everything he’s taken with her.

Cutthroat, Montana, and its citizens aren’t what Honora expected either. Not fond of children, Honora surprises herself by falling in love with her goddaughter at first sight. She’s enchanted with Montana’s beauty and not a little impressed by its marshal, Ridge Givens.

But Bibi is in danger. Her parents’ killer believes she might have seen him sawing the buggy’s axel the morning of the accident. If there’s a chance she can identify him, she must die.

Ridge sets up a plot to capture the man. Meanwhile, Bibi decides her Aunt Honora and Ridge would be perfect parents to replace her mama and papa, and she’s sure they love each other. Can she make them confess their feelings and marry before her parents’ killer gets to her?