Ten-year-old Lola lives in a ghost town in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. Being the only child for miles, Lola finds solace in her imagination. Her emotions trigger fantastical displays of nature’s beauty and danger. 

At a rodeo, Lola becomes obsessed with the idea of becoming a barrel racer to win her parents' affection and save their crumbling marriage. But as Lola’s training advances, her coach Gerald begins to groom her sexually. 

When her coach touches her inappropriately after her first race, a shaken-up Lola returns home to tell her mom Josephine. Only to find her mother packing their things after learning Lola’s dad Bear has cheated again, this time with the new girl in town, Liz.

Gerald secures his access to Lola by helping her mom with the move and offering help with child care while Josephine restarts her life.

In her new home, Lola experiences loss and violation. In response, Lola summons her magic, almost drowning Gerald in a flash flood. 

To escape Gerald, Lola steals his horse and runs away. Lola must cross over Guadalupe Mountain to make it back home to her father but Lola is thrown from the horse and injured. 

Her father tracks  Lola down just as the coach and her mother arrive on a rocky mountain road. Lola tells her parents about the abuse but then must use her magical powers to keep her father from killing Gerald and landing in jail. Her parents see what their fighting has cost Lola and recommit to putting Lola first.