Stray Dogs on the Mountain brings the outside world to Maravilla County, Colorado. In the shadow of the San Juan Mountains, life alters little, and Redbow, the county seat, is a town stuck someplace just this side of the 1950's, no big box stores, fast food restaurants or strip malls. For a cowboy like Wade Peterson, this should be an ideal place to live. But for Wade every day is a reflection of the past, each a reminder of the guilt he feels over the death of his closest friend and the love he hides for Kristina Cooper, his friend's widow. No amount of work, liquor or other women can change this. Unlike Wade, Bill Duncan has made peace with his past and is happy in the routine of being County Sheriff. The job is just enough to keep his mind occupied during the days and Teresa Madrid is enough to keep him happy during the nights. The last things he expected were brutal and violent murders with no apparent motive and the disappearance of Kristina Cooper. He isn't sure who to trust and the clues lead first to Wade. Unknown to Sheriff Duncan, members of a Mexican drug cartel, are the one's leaving a trail of bodies in their wake as they search for vengeance, money and narcotics. Their quest takes them first to Redbow and then into the mountains. Sheriff Duncan and Wade are left with no other choice than to set off into the vast, high country wilderness of the San Juans in pursuit of answers, not knowing what they are truly up against.