In the setting of this story, a particular ranch in the middle of nowhere, by the name of Outerbridge Ranch, is slowly running out of the income it needs in order to stay up for business. The necessary soil at the Outerbridges is barely even soil there-the heat has gotten to everything, including the sufferable horses that remain in Mrs. and Mr. Outerbridge's possession. The ranch is in dear need of some crops, but without the soil to maintain the plants, what can the folks even do? Life was never really easy for the Outerbridge couple, especially with arguments bringing up tension on the ranch every other day. Everything changes when Mrs. Outbridge briefly catches her attention on an attractive dark-brown mare that appears the most healthiest in the west. A herd follows her everywhere from the hills to the canyons and even back, leading the women to the obvious assumption that this mare is of the highest order. She brings herself to realize that the mare might just bring the ranch back into business as it once did. But the mare only longs for freedom, not only for her own benefit, but for her herd that she leads.