In Colorado Springs, Peter Miller, homicide detective with the CSPD, invites Ellie Bernstein to vacation with him for a stress-free week at a ranch. Just before they leave, an elderly man is killed in his home. The face on the victim's advertised for sale painting was slashed with a knife - and the woman with the slashed face is a dead ringer for Ellie. A dead body found near the ranch's ravine would ordinarily jump-start Ellie's sleuthing skills, but this time she's in unfamiliar territory. She's never been to Aspen before, she knew and adored the victim - a world-renowned Aspen artist - and, to make matters worse, his wife seems to be missing. Ellie desperately needs to find the 'art patron' who murdered her friend, and she needs to make friends with a black stallion named Satan.