On the eve of her wedding to Clay Carpenter, MaryAnn Poole's world collapses when she is told, "That boy you're fixin' t'marry could be your half-brother." Fearing she might be pregnant, she leaves her parents' mansion to seek anonymity in Sacramento's harsh Riverfront District. She obtains work in a dismal mercantile on Front Street. The year is 1901, when women living alone are looked upon with suspicion.

On the eve of her wedding to Clay Carpenter, MaryAnn Poole's world collapses when she is told, "That boy you're fixin' t'marry could be your half-brother." Fearing she might be pregnant, she leaves her parents' mansion to seek anonymity in Sacramento's harsh Riverfront District. She obtains work in a dismal mercantile on Front Street. The year is 1901, when women living alone are looked upon with suspicion.