Gold Rush dreams don't come cheapor without danger. Fleeing the cheerless prospect of marriage to a man she despises, Sarah Delany sails into the heady excitement of Gold Rush San Francisco. She has high hopes for a new life. Romance is the last thing on her mind. Especially with a rude ruffian of a gold miner who rescues her from being crushed by a wayward wagon. John Lawton arrives that very same day. He's got a grim-willed resolve to turn a pocketful of gold into a fortune, and no "helpless female" is going to interfere with his plans. After these shaky first impressions they go their separate ways, but chance throws them together again and again until they put their prickly beginning behind them and admit their attraction is more than a passing fancy. She and John must sift through a mountain of lies, deceit, and a brush with death if they hope to find the ultimate treasurein each other's arms.