In the spring of 1904, Ruth Andrews travels with her family in a covered wagon from a whistle-stop in Colorado into the mountains and to her family's new home in a log cabin. She learns to ride a pony, shoot a rifle, cook on a campfire, and take turns doing chores.
On her journey to the canyon her father bought from a mountain man, she helps her family overcome tragedy and start a new life far from the safety of her former Ohio home. She meets a boy her age and they become best friends.
She was eight years old. She had two brothers and two sisters. One of her brothers was her twin.