In the swirling, ghostly vortex of Colorado's Black Forest plateau, three families join forces in a race to protect unlawfully committed mental patients from having their memories erased...forever. When Jessie McKenzie and her twin brother Alex Austin became co-owners of Mad River Ranch along with their spouses, Duncan and Molly, they envisioned a family compound with enough space for active children and expanding businesses. What they could not foresee were unexplained snatches of whispered conversations, the sounds of faraway laughter, a humidor that can't seem to stay in one place, and the unaccountable smell of night-blooming jasmine mingled with cigar smoke. Thus begins the remarkable adventure of Mad River Nuthouse. A dangerous plot is uncovered to kidnap and confine patients in a nearby mental institution, and the Mad River Ranch family rushes to the rescue-joined by a group of veteran cowboys, the members of the Black Forest Wind Riders all-girl biker gang, expert hackers in the computer field, followers of Sun Tzu's The Art of War, an oversized llama with growth-hormone issues, and a vegan grizzly bear. With a force this strong, the enemies of the Mad River Ranch Gang must surely be outnumbered-but the bad guys have an arsenal of antipsychotic drugs that actually cause psychosis, a motley crew of sociopathic mercenaries, and a corrupt judge at their disposal...and it's all up to the Mad River Ranch Gang to save the day.