A young woman living under the tight control of a radical cult in Indiana is abducted by a man claiming to be her uncle. He forces her to flee with him across the country in a series of stolen vehicles. This act of evil which turned violent broke the bonds of her imprisonment within the abusive religious cult of her childhood. While on the road her abductor, wanted for murder, becomes desperate. Suddenly this accident of fate turns fortunate and releases Sylva to freedom in the forest and farmland of central Montana. This surprising turn of events is both fortunate for her, and fortunate for the town of Harrington into whose bosom she is thrust. With the help of new-found friends she becomes established as a much respected member of the community. Both she and Harrington will be the better for the act of evil and the accident of good fortune which brought her to Montana. But who is this newcomer who seems to do so much to make Harrington a better place to live for a diversity of people? Just where had she come from? Her new neighbors cannot quite comprehend. And yet the good she does deeply affects Harrington, and transforms the lives of many of its citizens in ways which no one could have predicted.