Shadow Mountain Ranch, near Jessup, California

Franzi DeLisle -- she's not your typical rancher -- she raises mules. But then, there's nothing typical about Franzi, from her skill as a tracker to her distrust of lawmen. She's tough and self-sufficient to a fault...because she has to be.

Levi Hunter -- U.S. Marshal. City slicker. Horse-lover and all-around traditionalist. He's a lawman on a mission...chasing a vicious killer who's escaped into the Sierra Nevadas.

When Franzi insists on helping Levi track his quarry, he quickly learns there's only one creature as stubborn as those "ugly, long-eared mules" -- and that's Franzi herself!