Dan thinks he wants to be a rancher; his father wants him to enroll in a university. He has been granted a year's stay at his godparents' Wyoming ranch to learn what ranching involves. He came to stay with them in early summer. Now he must go thru a winter in the high country, a test even for those from New York state.

Receiving a horse of his own -a young pinto that he names Toby- he finds additional complications: Toby may be blind, he needs training, and his ownership is in question. There are times when work must be done, Dan learns, at a ranch or anywhere, even if a person is tired. He appreciates the beauty of nature and also learns more of its difficulties. During a time of being snowed-in when he is alone, Dan must draw on his own resourcefulness.

A thread running thru this story is Dan's belief in a God to sustain him. This subject is written so that those of various faiths can relate to it without feeling pressured or excluded..