Merlyn Temple badly wants to be alive again and to feel what human beings feel. She steals the soul of the unborn baby of Gail's friend Christie, who is in town visiting Gail and close to giving birth. With this soul, Merlyn spends time with an intriguing boy blowing through Trinity on a motorcycle, Ray. But Caleb realizes it's the soul of Christie's baby that Merlyn has stolen and must try to convince Merly to give it back before the baby dies.

Merlyn's back, and she's hell-bent to get Lucas. The sheriff is on his own bent, though, to get a lawyer who screwed him over. He corners that lawyer, Bryan Hudson, into selling his family's property and evicting a longtime friend, Bertie.