No one could love a female doctor--Emma Allen knows that well. But her spinsterhood bothers her less than the lack of opportunity to use her medical training. In Missouri, no one trusts a female doctor, either. Then the opportunity arises to join a wagon train headed to the Oregon Trail. A new frontier offers a new hope for the life she wants to lead. But first she must deal with the hazards of the journey--including infuriating wagon master Zachary Thatcher. Zach riles Emma's temper until she's convinced no man could be more wrong for her. Yet when the treacherous trail challenges them, it takes his experience and her skill working together to bring them safely home.