"Along the way, Martha helps a family save their horses when their wagon slides into a ravine. She gentles a horse for a dying man - a last gift to his young son. She clashes with a hired hand who is abusing horses in unspeakable ways. Soon, despite her best efforts to remain aloof and detached, she comes to feel enveloped in a sense of community and family that she's never had before."--BOOK JACKET.