Carmen Peone

Girl Warrior Carmen Peone

Charnaye Toulou has her sights pinned on winning the World Famous Suicide horse race during the Omak Stampede. The purse will help ease a financial burden of her paraplegic father, worn out mother, and ill grandfather. But more than that, she wants the respect earned from becoming "King of the Hill." This race has been a long time rite of passage for male Natives. Charnaye is up for the challenge to prove females too can be awarded a warrior status as times are changing.

But when bully Hagan Hurst chokes her and causes her self-esteem to plummet, she hooks up with her Okanogan relatives and a horse that can take her the distance. Anonymous threatening letters find her and they all point to Hagan. Her father and mother become overly protective, but she meets a woman who has run the race, jumpstarting her confidence. The day after Charnaye graduates from high school, she jumps in with cousin and trainer Craig Stuart and heads for her relative's Omak ranch. And so do the letters.

Charnaye begins the rigorous training it takes to become "King of the Hill," or in her case, "Queen," and tries to figure out who is behind the threating letters. She combats fear and anxiety, fighting to fulfill this rite of passage.