It’s 1861 in New Mexico Territory, and the Civil War is about to have a startling impact on Matty Summerhayes. Matty is struggling to develop a horse ranch to make enough money to return to the East. A stranger dies in her barn with a map of her land in his pocket. Soon afterwards, war is declared and Texans invade her valley for the Confederacy. Rumors begin to fly about a lost gold mine and soon someone is trying to run her off her ranch. Then her closest friend Winona, a one-time slave who is now nearing childbirth, is about to be stoned for practicing voodoo, and only Matty’s creative quick thinking can save her. But when Matty’s greatest secret is exposed, she must find a killer or lose her ranch.