In the early 1900s, Risa, a young teen, must leave her small, Jewish community in California to avoid an unwanted marriage. Her baby brother, who already knows he is gay, seduces another boy and is exiled from the community. Risa considers their options, and walks them east to Nevada. Along the way, they are taken in by a native American ranch foreman and the husband and wife who own the spread. Younger brother Yani is adopted as a family favorite, while Risa becomes an unpaid servant. The ranch foreman teaches her to break horses, and she is able to leave the ranch with a marketable skill. Risa leaves Yani behind, where he is being well taken care of. On her own, Risa charges large amounts of money, knowing that men love to gawk at her as her body would twist during a horse-breaking. She lives by camping, her only companions her horse, Snap, and a wild wolf-dog, Echo.
This horse-breaker does well and invests wisely, becoming a silent partner in several businesses, including the local brothel. She no longer needs to camp out and hunt bear. She moves to town and becomes a respectable lady, keeping her Jewish faith a secret from everyone, but sometimes it pops up, bringing Risa back to her roots. Patrick, known as “Pretty Boy,” an Irish immigrant, sees his opportunity. Risa falls madly for him, and they marry on the native American reservation of Risa’s friend Manzanita. Risa sets her new husband up in a business, but Patrick eventually becomes an albatross around Risa’s neck, as he turns into the town drunk and a womanizer. When his family arrives from Ireland, they are astonished to see life as it really is, rather than the rosy and braggadocious picture that Patrick has painted for them in his letters.
Risa could never have foreseen the latter chapter of her story, or her eventual happy ending. Risa’s saga of independence, compassion, and determination is told with cynicism, wit, and heart.
This unusual Western has an appeal that crosses the gender gap.