After serving time in the Louisiana State Prison, Bud Downey spent many months winning a small fortune as a gambler. Feeling confident that he had won enough money, he packed up his stake to begin his journey to Limason, Texashome. After his last winning hand at the gambling table, a couple of disgruntled cowboys were angry that they had lost all their money to the smooth-talking young man. As Bud traveled near the border of Lafayette, Louisiana, he was ambushed, shot, and left for dead in the swampy waters of the bayou. Rosie Jourdian never dreamed that at the young age of eighteen, she would have the sole responsibility of caring for her two young siblings. Who would believe that life could play such an ugly, cruel trick on her life? She was abandoned by her mama and left to raise a six-week-old baby boy and an eleven-year-old brother. While fishing in the bayou to help feed her little family, she discovered a bloody cowboy in the swampy waters. With her friend Justices herbs and potions, they nursed him back to health. The men who were looking for him discovered his whereabouts and burned down Rosies shack, leaving her family homeless. Would this independent young girl go with Bud and leave the only home she has ever known?