Set in the Wyoming and Colorado territories of the 1880s, Mountain Ranch is the epic story of three families who carved a place on the American frontier. Changes have come to Twin Peaks Ranch and to the families that call the ranch their home.  Kade Welles and his stepson, Jake, have challenges they never imagined.  The shifts in Kade’s life bring more complications than he expects as he approaches age sixty.  The young men of the ranch are beginning to take over some of the leadership roles, and Kade is willing to let them do just that.  When tragedy strikes, Kade needs to find his own path to a normal life.

For Jake, the challenges of being a mixed-blood Ute and facing prejudice off the ranch is a continuing issue.  Worried about his Ute relatives in the aftermath of the Meeker Massacre, Jake finds himself trying to hold his extended family together as the Utes are removed to the Utah country.  As Jake takes on a leadership role on the ranch, the obstacles he must deal with range from family matters to wolf packs and outlaws.  

Finally, there is James, a distant cousin of Jake. At eighteen, young James Bates, is taking on more responsibility and growing into a man. His adventures take him to the red-light district of Laramie, where he makes new friends, and to the Wyoming prairie, where he finds a desperate family living in a soddy. How James rises to the trials he encounters is the tribute to his upbringing and to the men and women of Twin Peaks Ranch who have guided him along the way.