AWAY TO ME

A woman with a difficult past finds the peace she’s longed for with a non-human partner.

The residents of the Wisconsin farm where Dr. Maddie McGowan lives include a small band of sheep, a guard dog, and Jack, the border collie Maddie takes to sheepdog trials. After George, her mentor—a top handler and breeder of working border collies—is shot by a sniper at a trial in front of horrified spectators, Maddie’s life spirals downward. Her thoughts return to her appalling marriage in New Mexico, where her rodeo-star husband mentally abused her while professing his undying love, until he left her for dead in a chest freezer. When she was found by a neighbor after a day and a half, her husband was arrested. Maddie changed her life by financing a college degree in animal behavior studies with the money from her divorce and starting a business working with troubled animals. The director of the nearby shelter where Maddie volunteers asks her help with Cisco, a malnourished shepherd who refuses to eat and is clearly dangerous. Chris, the shelter volunteer who found Cisco, is thrilled when Maddie agrees to take him because she thinks he might be a trained scent dog. Although she’s crushed by George’s murder, her work with Cisco and her support from her friend Grace and neighbor Vince keep her focused on solving the puzzle. Along the way, she picks the brain of George's business partner, Tom, who trains dogs for police work, and has a fling with Chris, who admits he was an addict and found Cisco in a drug warehouse. When Cisco is dognapped, Maddie, seeing a link to George’s death, risks her life to discover the truth.

A moving fiction debut that explores the deep connection between dogs and their human partners.