For Julia Colton, it means the difference between war and peace, friendship and hatred. From birth, her father has taught her that the Jayhawkers of Kansas are the enemy--especially the Murphys. But when Ryan Murphy steps in like a hero from a fairy tale, and saves her from a group of Jayhawkers, Julia begins to question her alliances. She sees a tenderness in his blue eyes that she has never seen in any man, and she feels an undeniable spark between them.