On a bitter December day in 1785 Silas Ballantyne arrives at the door of master blacksmith Liege Lee in York Pennsylvania. Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself Silas is determined to finish his apprenticeship and move west. But Liege soon discovers that Silas is a prodigious worker and craftsman and endeavors to keep him in York. Silas becomes interested in both of Liege's daughters the gentle and faith-filled Eden and the clever and high-spirited Elspeth. When he chooses one will the other's jealousy destroy their love?