Cattle rustling, dark money and murder in a place where nobody even locks their doors.

When Lindy Larsen’s marriage ended, she moved to the ranch in The Badlands she inherited from her father. It has never been profitable so she takes a job in town and plans a farmgate store to put the ranch on a solid financial footing. She gets a promotion and begins a promising romance. The future looks bright.

When some of their cattle are stolen it’s a serious financial blow. They miss a payment on their line of credit, tanking chances of getting the loan they need to finance the store. An unexpected source of funding presents itself and the store becomes a reality.

But the store soon runs into a roadblock and the rustlers haven’t gone away, either. Using all-terrain vehicles and semi-trailers, they strike fast and disappear. A rancher who catches them in the act is murdered. Lindy thinks she knows who’s behind it. She pokes around hoping to find proof, and uncovers what she thinks is damning evidence. She reports her suspicions to the RCMP, but they can’t do much. When her nephew goes missing, she has no choice but to act.

Do the rustlers have her nephew? Can she find him in time? Or will they disappear into the Badlands like so many others, never to be seen again?

Fans of the Yellowstone tv series will love After The Dance. -Patricia Parker, author of The Abode.