Five spirited animals pounded down the track, a short 300 yards for these beginners. All power and motion, a shower of dirt, and then it was over.

It is South Texas in the 1970s when quarter horse racing was on dirt tracks, and into this world comes thirty-nine-year-old Shannon Murphy to manage her father's ranch. It is a chance for her to start anew and she takes to this tactile life with fervor.

Despite her chilly relationship with her stepmother, Shannon holds dear the opportunity to help her father build a winning stable. An ardent romance develops between Shannon and local veterinarian Hayden Aldred, and they form a family of sorts with Jesus Valdez, a teenage ranch hand who dreams of college.

Despite a series of setbacks, the success of the ranch's prized racehorse seems assured until a tragedy strikes - a tragedy for which some blame Shannon. Exiling herself to the Davis Mountains, Shannon embarks on a journey of self-reflection that challenges her every notion of life, love, and family loyalty.

Jonnie Martin's debut novel, Wrangle, recaptures a particular place and time - 1970s Texas ranching - and the human struggles of families in every place and time.