Widowed cattle rancher Hetty Thompson had done all right for herself since Big Jim’s death. She had Barney, a loyal if dim-witted ranch hand, and Johnny her assistant manager whom she rescued from a drunken father years before. When the government carves out a huge piece of Frenchman’s Flat for an atomic testing ground Hetty and her neighbors object, but the millitary fences in the range anyway. It wasn’t so bad for a while. Then Hetty’s chickens began laying golden eggs, and her prize Guernsey produced explosive milk. Nevada ranch folk are tough but are they ready for mutant livestock? (Summary by Gregg Margarite)...

Science fiction