For as long as she could remember, Maud Overstreet figured she'd grow up, get married, have a house with a white picket fence and a brood of kids. Now, in 1872, she's tired of being the bank president's spinster daughter and equally tired of washing, ironing and cleaning. When, out of the blue, Dry Creek's town council offers her the job of replacement sheriff, she accepts. And her sheltered world explodes. For the first time, Maud enters a saloon, tastes whiskey, learns to shoot, learns to ride a horse and drive a stagecoach, arrests people, and leads men in search parties. Yet she still has time to dream about her long-errant boyfriend, Elijah J.Goodman, off—somewhere—for the past few years. She is convinced they will marry when he returns and hopes it will be soon. But the discovery of gold brings all sorts of unsavory characters to her town, including the threat of the notorious James Mooney Gang. There are rumors of an impending bank robbery. Maud enlists the help of Mayor Seth Critoli, but it's up to her to save Dry Creek from disaster.