The Color of Whiskey

A feisty accountant from Boston takes a low level bank audit in Cleveland, Texas near the wild Piney Woods in this shorter and sexier version of novel Texas First, The New Republic. Reeling from a break-up with her snobby fiance, Martie Malone ops for a diversion in the strange land with its big skies and untamed people. When she meets a stubborn and surly trail boss, she must prove herself worthy of a spot on his annual trail ride into the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Show. Bud Daniels is a throw back to the old west with a masculine code, and he spars with the forceful Martie who will not take no for an answer and who works hard to earn his respect. It's Bud who is worn down, and his emotionally guarded heart is finally thawed for what he believes is a short-lived romance. But Martie develops ardent feelings for Bud and questions her priorities: should she remain in Texas or return to her upper crust roots in Boston?

Little does Martie know that Bud's world holds dark secrets. The Ku Klux Klan is still acitve, Bud's father is a hatemonger and member of a radical militia, and Pinkie Laroux, the concrete Road King of East Texas and the bank's richest client, may be an embezzler. With various sinister plots roiling around, Martie dons her new cowboy boots and prepares for the annual ride. A disastrous accident occurs on the honorary pilgrimage, sending Bud into a period of guilt and self-recrimination. After he denies his love for Martie and sends her away, the seedy characters and their interwoven conspiracies begin to unravel after several murders are uncovered, and Bud's two sons are kidnapped and disappear into the Piney Woods. From her office in Boston, Martie watches the events unfold on television and vows she will not stand idly by when those she loves are in danger.