When Dol McQueen is given some valuable stolen goods to stash, the nineteen-year-old prostitute and opium user grabs the chance to start a new life and takes off with the loot--and all hell in pursuit. Her flight through the western wilderness of 1860s America is beset by mule thieves, salt flats, halfsavage kids, and her own addiction. But she is driven forward on this mad odyssey by a desperate need to save her mother from self destruction. A very modern heroine, Dol McQueen is a captivating narrator who tells her shattering story with immense comic verve and an irresistible frankness.

A poetic, emotionally potent story about women, men, drugs, and the American West, Missy is a thoroughly exhilarating debut novel.