To save her gravely ill mother-in-law, the widow Emily Rivers became a woman hired to bear an heir. One night in prison, she met Evan Cameron, who would rather pierce his own palm than defile her. Later, he came to her wonton stall every day, clumsily trying to win her favor and keep her safe. After going through many hardships, she finally understood his true feelings, and he, at the moment of life and death, realized how deep her love was. Two people who crawled out of the mud together—one taught her to love herself, the other gave him a home.