Spending two weeks at a dude ranch is a dream-come-true for Karen, 17. She delights being at Credenda Ranch, and the reader will enjoy all the details of her stay. What makes the story intriguing is the legend that surrounds this ranch, the "Tale of Echo Valley". Every evening the first week, old Hank unfolds a little more of the legend and its poem. It is about a girl and a horse: Have you ever seen Echo Valley, in the best of its glory? Have you ever listened to its tale, of a great love story? Karen's first summer "on her own", she learns a great deal about life and herself. She begins to live the legend and similar things happen: she, too, saves a horse, and she, too, finds romance.