THEY CALLED HER "THAT HUNTER WOMAN." On the Texas Panhandle frontier as woman was seen as either a whore or a helpmate. Mattie Jo Hunter was neither. Determined to build a ranching empire on the the desolate plains, she went her own way and asked no quarter from nature or man–including her weakling husband. She would do what she must to realize her dream and secure her own self-respect. As Mattie's bond with her ranch manager and former Texas Ranger, Jesse McDade, grew stronger, they risked both their honor and their dreams.