Late at night Annie Peacock returns home to Gardiner, Montana and a crime scene. Somebody has taken their message of her stepping down from the bench as a Judge too far. They kidnapped her mother, Eleanor Malone, and shot Archie, her dog. On opposite sides of a previous winter with disasterous results, it becomes Ranger Will McCarroll's responsibility to work with the FBI. Judge Peacock won't be bullied into stepping down. Hearing the evidence against her most likely suspect, Chadwick Gleeson, on a previous charge, she finds enough physical evidence to hold him over for trial. His claim of self defense when he shot number 21, a wolf reintroduced to the park in 1995, is looking more like premeditated poaching.

Hank, a local jack-of-all-trades is facing charges of starting a campfire on park land. From the jailhouse, he saw a vehicle pull near the judge's residence and heard the commotion. He wants to deal. Drop the charges, and he might have a better memory of that night. Annie won't have somebody play the system under her jurisdiction and returns him to jail. Somehow he's got to get info to make him look like a hero. Later, released from jail, he sees the vehicle and decides a little investigation on his own might be profitable, considering his fine was still on the books.

Ranger Randy Hannah is approached by young Zach Knudson with a guilty conscious. He played a prank by putting personal items into the springs at Orange Spring Mound. Now he feels responsible for the water line receding, not over time, but by mere days.

The Church of White Hope's generous donation of $50,000 for any information on Mrs. Malone's kidnapping fails to bring any takers. Will has an idea. The keenest mind he knows is retired Judge Sherburne who is in a nursing facility recuperating from a stroke. Will introduces him to Annie. Although his body is trapped by his health, his mind is still sharp. He thinks he knows where Annie's mother is, but the answer is locked up. Trying to communicate his suspicions, the hospital staff intervenes. For his own good, of course.

How can the wolves, the absent water, and the judge's mother be connected?

Besides ALPHA FEMALE having a strong suspense element, the author uses the scenic detail beautifully. I felt I was actually visiting our national park. The excitement, suspense, and danger kept me guessing all the way to the end as to what crime was being committed and who the bad guys were. I couldn't put it down. It is so much more than just a romance. I look forward to reading her other books.