Orphaned at the age of fourteen, Caroline Akiko Holt found refuge in a factory job painting toys – a job that satisfies her artistic side while still putting food on the table. All she wants is to live the American dream, just as her immigrant British father encouraged her to do.

But the exotic looks she inherited from her Okinawan grandmother mark her as a foreigner, no matter how hard she works or how perfectly she speaks. It's only at her bible study group that she feels accepted.

As Caroline's bible study friends begin to find husbands of their own as mail-order brides, Caroline fears she will never find a man who loves her for who she is. So when Maxwell Kaspar writes to her through the mail-order bride catalogue, The Matrimonial Times, Caroline is delighted that Max seems to love her for who she is.

But Max has troubles of his own – troubles so big, they threaten to destroy everything he’s built, including his ranch. Has Caroline finally found a place where she’s accepted as she is – just in time to see it destroyed?