When Clay Ross suddenly loses his wife of forty years, her memorial sends his mind wandering down a path of memories to 1954 and the day Lucy Reynolds first rode into his life. Although terrified of horses, and of Lucy's disapproving father, Clay set out to win his "horseback angel".

Decades later, alone in the life he created with Lucy, Clay contemplates ending it all as he struggles to find a way through his immobilizing grief. His wife is dead, his sons have abandoned him. Only his granddaughter and his horses shine light into his darkened world.

This prequel to the Double R Series is a story of how one encounter can alter the course of a life, and how loss, no matter how profound, can be overcome.