Detective Adam Corwin and his partner, Mariana Sayles, were getting frustrated in their attempts to capture Roy Bedell and his band of outlaw brothers. Bedell had been cagily avoiding capture while leaving behind a trail of victims of his latest and seemingly lucrative scam -- that of a man searching for a bride. He conned some hopeful women out of their savings, and most recently wound up with a dead fiancé. His present mark was none other than Savannah Reed whose goal was to find a husband, but for reasons of her own.

Savannah was anxious to permanently distance herself from her thespian parents who made front pages news with their own illegal exploits. Like her parents, she had been in the theater her entire life, but she dreamed of living a regular life -- husband, children and home. An elusive dream, until her telegraph correspondence with Adam Corwin, AKA Roy Bedell.

Bedell used Adam's name in his messages to Savannah, a private insult to the detective that was fast becoming a thorn in his side. Their ongoing correspondence had Savannah believing that Adam-Roy could be the answer to her prayers since he was willing to join her in Morrow Creek, where she hoped to establish a new identity -- that of Mrs. Adam Corwin. She would finally lose her surname and the notoriety that was attached to it. But Bedell never arrived on any of the incoming trains. Instead Adam Corwin showed up on her doorstop near death. Since she had never seen Bedell, she believed this badly injured fellow was her future groom. As she nursed him back to health, she was beginning to hope that this handsome, caring, and protective man would be her husband in more than just name.

Savannah was using all her acting skills to keep her true identity hidden. In turn, Adam was willing to hide behind her belief that he was her mail order groom. He had been harboring feelings for the woman in the photo he used to find Savannah. Once he met her, these feelings made him hope for things he never thought he would find. Neither could deny the attraction, but Adam had a job to do which was to protect Savannah and prevent her from being the next victim of the Bedell brothers. The big question is... how far will he go to protect her?

MAIL-ORDER GROOM takes you back to a time when meeting potential wives and husbands was a daunting task and people resorted to finding a partner by corresponding with them or answering ads. They wanted someone to make them feel less lonely. Love was a bonus. Adam and Savannah are both looking for their someone.