Philly's young husband, Joel, doesn't think any less of her than he does Irene and Audrey. He loves and values her just the way she is, even if she is so deathly afraid of horses that she won't learn to ride them or even drive the chuck wagon. It's Philly herself who can't get over her limitations. She won't put aside her own insecurities to be satisfied with the blessings of her new marriage. She worried herself sick trying to come up with some way to prove herself equal to her fellow mail-order brides.
But the cattle drive isn't over yet. More trials await the family in the last few days of their journey. Philly must dig deep inside herself to find the strength and courage to meet these events and overcome them. By the end of the cattle drive, all the demons of her past life will be exorcised, leaving her free to embrace the future with a new spirit.