Michelle Bowman leads a contented life, teaching in a one-room school on her parents' remote Wyoming ranch. But her world turns upside-down when she discovers a "wild man" in the mountains. Starving, filthy, and unable to communicate, he fears everyone.She manages to gain his trust, but as she washes away the filth, she is shocked to discover horrifying scars. It appears that he has been the victim of long-running torture.Michelle is overwhelmed with questions. Who is this silent stranger? Where did he come from? Who would abuse him like this and was it someone in her small, closed community?And so begins a long journey for both of them. Michelle sets out to nurse him back to health and teach him to rejoin humanity. She calls him Phillip, because he has a way with horses and it means "lover of horses."The lives of Michelle and her family will be changed forever as she unravels the mysteries surrounding the silent stranger.