After Marigold Shadd's parents disappeared during a mission trip, she and her sister Ixora moved to Mapleville, a rural community on the shores of Lake Erie. Their grandmother Annabelle "Big Momma" Henson adored them but Marigold had lost faith in everything including God. Marigold's best friend Logan van Basten became the silver lining in her life. Days after their high school graduation, they ran off to New York and took up cruise ship jobs. Time may heal all wounds but the decade spent at sea didn't fill the void in Marigold's heart. When Logan revealed that his wife Alena was unable to carry a child and asked Marigold to become their surrogate mother, she said yes. Marigold saw Logan's request as an opportunity to prove her sister Ixora wrong. Ixora had always said she was selfish. What could be more redeeming than her carrying a baby for a woman she didn't even like?