Without Luke, Meredith is trying to piece her life back together; while in a hospital miles away, a young man is fighting for his life... -- back cover.

Widowed Sarah Turner has her hands full, raising three young children, tending the lock on the canal, baking bread, and washing clothes for boatmen. Although she's not looking for love, she's vowed not to lose her heart to a boatman. Yet she didn't count on meeting Captain Elias Brooks. Will she follow her heart where it leads or accept the proposal of a handsome land-loving blacksmith?

Sylvia has been nearly paralyzed with grief and anxiety since the tragic death of her husband, father, and brother in a traffic accident. She tries to help in the family's greenhouse while caring for her two children, but she prefers not to have to deal with customers. Her mother's own grief causes her to hover over her children and grandchildren. As a diversion, Sylvia takes up birdwatching, and meets an Amish man who teaches her about local birds....