Orphaned at an early age, Susanna Warren was raised by her grandfather to love the mountains and respect the Native American customs. She is excited when she receives an assignment that would bring her home to her beloved Sierra Nevada Mountains to work as an archeologist and historian for the Native American Branch of the Smithsonian Institute. Her job is to search for areas the Washoe visited and document any rock art or artifacts in the area. But her first day on the mountain, she inadvertently steps into the path of thieves caught in the act of stealing rock art. A shotgun blast narrowly misses her as she is thrown to the ground by a stranger, who pulls her to temporary safety as they run for their lives. As the only witness to their crime, she finds herself not only eluding the thieves, but engaging in a battle of wills with the local sheriff, who can't decide whether to lock her up or protect her. When she evades protective custody, Sheriff Jeff Clellan races to find her before the thieves take her out of their way permanently.