When gunslinger, drifter Solomon Wolfe becomes the sole provider to his 10 year-old niece, he decides to put some purpose into his life.  He takes young Garnet back to his family's abandoned ranch in Montana.  He's been gone for many years; in the meantime, one Cairo Brown has set up a sophisticated billiards hall.  She's the toast of the town and the best billiardist, male or female, for miles.  Solomon challenges her, and wins, again and again, until he's taken her nest egg with which she planned to take go to New York City to start anew.  Practically destitute, she agrees to be married to Solomon for one year, to care for Garnet and earn back her money.  In that time, Cairo and Solomon clash over domestic tasks, ranch life, Solomon's former lover on an adjoining ranch, and an evil villain trying to lead Garnet astray.  When Garnet is kidnapped and Solomon and Cairo go in search of her, this poignant love story is brought to a climax that will leave the reader both laughing and crying.