New Mexico is an arid land where rain is both a life-giving blessing and a destructive curse, where traditional cultures are threatened by development that is heedless of the landscape.

Elizabeth "Digger" Doyle is a tough young reporter at a small newspaper in Las Vistas, New Mexico. She has a nose for uncovering political intrigue at City Hall and there's plenty of that in a town where developers call the shots.

When a protest group contacts Digger about their campaign to stop a road that threatens a historic Spanish chapel, she sees it as the powerful story that could expose how sprawl development is harming the fragile landscape.

But she hadn't counted on falling for protest leader Maria Ortiz. Maria is a local artist who is fighting to prevent the Hispanic heritage of the area from being erased by people moving to the city who have no respect for New Mexico's ways.

Despite their mutual attraction, the two women must navigate a tricky relationship. Digger has to keep Maria's trust while following tips from a mysterious source that reveal how the road developer's schemes have bilked taxpayers of millions. It's a story that could be her ticket to a major newspaper, but by following it she risks alienating Maria.

Digger faces the painful choice between Maria and her career.