When Laramie Porter's sister-in-law Julie is beaten so badly by her husband she miscarries her baby, Laramie takes her home from the hospital. But just a few minutes after the women arrive home, Julie's husband, who also happens to be a drug addict "and" the local police sheriff, shows up at the house on a murderous rampage. He kills Julie and attempts to murder Laramie. When he doesn't succeed, he hauls them into the mountains and throws them off a cliff. Julie's body lands in a pond, but Laramie hits a ledge, where she perches, terrified. Derrick Garrison is in the mountains moving his cattle when his dog finds Julie's body in the pond. Creeped out, Derrick at first doesn't believe his ears when he hears a girl crying for help. But he finds Laramie and pulls her to safety. Before she can tell him anything, a lightning strike starts a forest fire and they flee to a hidden valley. Fleeing a drug hazed killer, the fire, and a gun-toting old lady bent on collecting a reward, Laramie and Derrick do their best to evade all three . . . and fall in love along the way.