A dying claim. A deadline. And a marriage of convenience to hold the line.
Montana, 1957. Mildred "Millie" Caldwell arrives from Ohio with a suitcase and a folder of her late uncle's paperwork, expecting to inherit a ranch. Instead, she finds a run-down shack, a predatory neighbor named Halverson planting "No Trespassing" signs on her dirt, and a county clerk who gives her a brutal ultimatum: she has days, not months, to prove residence and improvements, or the land vanishes.
Enter Clem Spyker. He’s a local hand with a toolbox, a silence that speaks volumes, and a past he keeps buried. He knows the land, and he knows that a single woman with a deadline is an easy target for men like Halverson.
To beat the contest filed against the deed, they agree to a radical solution: a marriage of convenience. It is a partnership on paper designed to secure the permit and save the legacy. But as they fight to turn a shack into a home, the threats turn physical. Halverson isn't just watching; he's waiting for them to fail. And Clem is making dangerous deals in the shadows to keep them afloat, deals that could cost them much more than the land.
From the first fence post to the final debt settled, this is the raw, unvarnished origin story of the Spyker Ranch.
Tropes & Themes:
- Marriage of Convenience
- Grumpy x Sunshine
- He’s stoic / protective, she’s determined / city
- The "Proving Up" Homestead Trope
- Protector Hero
- Historical Western (1950s)
- Clean Romance (Fade to Black)
