joanna reinhard loses her job as a software engineer but refuses to adjust her reckless spending. to keep her three dogs and two horses (the mare menacing and pregnant), she moves in with her best friend, margaret lewis, paying for her family’s lodging by fixing up margaret’s house and barn for sale. joanna’s world grows more complicated when margaret’s manipulative son davey comes home from college and reawakens joanna’s buried memories of childhood abuse and her anger at an early marriage to a domineering husband. margaret, however, refuses to acknowledge her son’s predatory behavior. joanna hires a local stable manager, wayne armstrong, to lend a hand with the heavy work in renovating the barn. his muscles and equipment are a great help, but his “little woman” attitude grates against joanna’s self-sufficient temperament. the friendship between joanna and wayne begins with verbal clashes, but develops into an emotional haven for joanna when davey attacks her beloved dogs and horses and margaret emotionally deserts her.