A puzzling photograph, a box filled with faded toy horses, and a single fractured memory are all that Maya has left of her mother. In Grandmother's house in California, she lives like a captive, tethered by Grandmother's rules: not talk of her mother, no friends, no foolishness of any kind . . . until a shocking event changes everything.

A world away, in the rugged Wyoming wilderness, a wild mustang called Artemisia runs free, belonging only to the stars. In a land where mountain lions and wranglers pose an ever-present threat, she must vigilantly protect her new foal . . . until a devastating act separates them from their band.

Like a braided rein, Maya's and Artemisia's lives will ultimately intertwine. Together, they hold the key to each other's survival.

In this radiant and expansive novel, Pam Muñoz Ryan walks, jogs, lopes and gallops on new ground, her transcendent prose beating out a memorable refrain in the heart.

From the dust jacket