When Betsy Johnson draws her gun and kills a Klansman in defense of a young black man, she dramatically alters the course of her life-and that of her young daughter Sara. Faced with almost certain lynching in her native Kentucky, Betsy dons a man's dress and identity, takes Sara, and flees for her life to Early, a dusty, unknown, one-horse town in the New Mexico Territory.

Passing as a man, Betsy quickly becomes the law in town. Fortunately, Early is ahead of its time, and the townspeople don't balk when Betsy's disguise comes off and her gender is known. She and Sara quickly find...