Publisher's Synopsis
Margie wants to go California to be a film star and Ernie says he'll take her. However he just steals her inheritance instead so now she must find another way to get there. Help comes from an unexpected source - her estranged father, Donald. Newly widowed, he is looking for a long-lost son and tells Margie that she can ride with him if she does the chores. At a roadside camp, they meet two other families heading west and join them. Ernie also appears and convinces them that he should come too. They also take in Brady Hoyt and his 5-yr-old niece. Then, one morning Margie awakes to find her father dead. Margie is convinced that Ernie killed him and now Ernie becomes aggressive in his pursuit of her and Brady takes on the role of her protector. He lost everything to the dust storms that have been plaguing Oklahoma, and a tragedy has left him with the care of his niece. A quiet, efficient man, he has never been responsible for a child before, and he welcomes Margie's help and advice. Eventually Ernie is charged with the murder of Margie's father-but did he actually do it? Margie finds herself torn between her ambition and the love that has grown between herself and Brady.
