Like many Americans, Civil War widow Katie Rose Kelly was determined to make a new life for herself after the devastation of war. She was drawn to the Dakota frontier, where she claimed 160 acres and became a sheepherder.

But that was just the beginning of her journey.

As a woman alone on the wide-open prairies, she fought nature as well as powerful cattle ranchers who saw sheep as competition for grazing lands. With grit and determination, Katie built a new life, fostered new friendships, and kindled new love.