Meredith McBride is a horse trainer living in the majestic Teton Valley, Idaho, with her husband Blake, a captain for a commercial airline, when tragically, the plane her husband was piloting crashes into the East China Sea, killing everyone on board. Enveloped by the world press in her small town, Meredith tries to grieve for her dead husband, while the cause of the plane crash is investigated. The press quickly expose the details of Blake's past, military service in Afghanistan, and the violent circumstances of his conception. Three days after the crash, the FAA reveal the cause of the devastating plane crash, that shocks people world-wide. With the love and support of her dear friend Grace, Meredith does her best to cope, despite the scrutiny from the press and the people in her town. To make matters worse, Meredith's alcoholic brother Darien, who she hasn't seen in eighteen years comes to live with her, in hopes that she can save his life from his debilitating disease. She is skeptical about their reunion, because she doesn't want to relive the pain of her abusive childhood, and battle a disease that has dominated her brother's life for over twenty-five years. By chance, Meredith is reunited with her former lover Levi, a man who broke her heart, but it isn't long before she realizes that Levi is the true love of her life. Not wanting her husband's death to be in vain, Meredith takes a stand to help veterans with PTSD, and creates a foundation named after a veteran soldier who had been dishonored by the military. Thistle Dew, details the depth of a woman's strength and dedication to overcome loss, and the scars of the past, while embracing the healing powers of horses, amongst the unspoiled wilderness of the mountainous west.