No-one takes a woman seriously in the Dakotas, least of all a woman of mixed race who owns the only general store in Flats Junction. But Kate has never let her heritage or her gender stand in her way. Not even when shy, Boston-bred widow Jane moved to town and stole her beloved. Not even when her Lakota mother was forced to flee after her house mysteriously burned down. But now a posse of outlaws is threatening her supplies, and making demands on Kate that will surely become too much to bear. But Kate has a plan to make herself indispensable to Flats Junction and she intends to succeed, no matter who stands in her way.