Former marine Tom Cavanaugh has come home to Virgin River, ready to take over his family's apple orchard and settle down. He knows just what the perfect woman will be like: sweet, decent, maybe a little naive. The marrying kind.

Nothing like Nora Crane. So why can't he keep his eyes off the striking single mother?

Nora may not have finished college, but she graduated with honours from the school of hard knocks. She's been through tough times and she'll do whatever it takes to support her family, including helping with harvest time at the Cavanaughs' orchard. She's always kept a single–minded focus on staying afloat; but suddenly her thoughts keep drifting back to rugged, opinionated Tom Cavanaugh.

Both Nora and Tom have their own ideas of what family means. But they're about to prove each other completely wrong.