Journalist Madison Wade decides to move to Philadelphia when one of her articles on violence in the city hits too close to home. Madison and her fourteen-year-old adopted son, Ethan, take refuge in Buckeye, a small town in eastern Tennessee where her father had grown up. Despite the tranquility, Madison and Ethan feel like outsiders. But Gabe Wyatt, the local sheriff, is determined to welcome them to the town. He immediately falls for this beautiful journalist from the city. Madison resists Gabe's advances, but he's persistent and unlike anyone she's ever met before.

As a romance develops between them, Madison becomes comfortable in the rural setting, and when Ethan becomes friends with Jordan, a fellow outsider at school, Buckeye begins to feel like home. But a tragic death changes everything for them. When Jordan's father is murdered during a weekend camping trip, Ethan becomes the prime suspect. Gabe's investigation of the murder causes a rift in his relationship with Madison. As small town gossip builds a damaging case against Ethan, Madison races to discover the truth. Heartbroken and lost, she struggles to find anyone who will believe in her and Ethan, despite their past.