Stone McBride, the eldest of the McBride siblings, is the last to return to the Circle M Ranch, as requested by his dying father. When he and his siblings parted company four years before, it was with hard feelings. If it weren't for the pending inheritance, he wouldn't have bothered. He barely makes the thirty day deadline to show up at the family ranch.

His return also churns up old, mixed feelings in Annabelle Chapin. Several years earlier, she and Stone had been secretly betrothed, but an argument and breakup eventually sent him on his way. After a four year absence, she thought she'd got him out of her system. How wrong she was. She not only has to deal with her feelings again, but she has Stone's stepmother, Clare, to deal with. The biggest question is why Stone keeps disappearing to Fort Worth, on a regular basis. What is there to keep drawing him back? Annie knows it has to be either a woman or gambling, and she's determined not to let Stone break her heart again.

Evelyn Rogers closes out the Secret Fires series with Stone's story. The eldest McBride has past hard feelings to deal with, a half brother he never knew existed until he'd returned to Sidewinder, and a secret agenda to attend to.

Take two stubborn, hard headed people and try to get them to see sense... not an easy task. Stone and Annie have a good deal to learn before they can come to terms with their relationship. Annie's the first to come up with a summary of the McBride family's biggest problem. Can she deal with her own heartache? Will patriarch, Tom McBride live long enough to see a healing process begin? Will stepmother, Clare, succeed in getting the Circle M from her stepchildren?

The Loner accounts for the last, and most reluctant sibling, to arrive home, and ties up the loose ends of the McBride's family squabbles. You won't want to miss the conclusion to the Secret Fires series.