It's hard to miss Cassie. She's the one in the cowgirl boots who up until this morning wasn't interested in boys. But on the eve of her sixteenth birthday, something inside her knocks loose. His name is Chad Holbrook. He's a prep school boy from Albuquerque and Cassie's "fair weather" friend. He promises to stay for Cassie's sixteenth birthday. Just when Cassie thinks she can count on it, Chad breaks his promise. But he leaves behind a treasure hunt that convinces her Chad may be sweet on her, too. Cassie becomes jealous when she discovers her best friend Ahzi knows all about the treasure hunt. To make things worse, Cassie meets Maverick, a charming misfit, who threatens to steal her heart and the gold Grandpa has kept quiet about all these years. Maverick has a dark secret that draws Cassie and Ahzi into the perilous world of gold mining and drug dealing. Cassie must risk trusting Maverick if she and her friends are to get out alive.