She was a woman of large appetites -- emotional, financial, sexual -- who did exactly what she wanted when she wanted, consequences be damned. She lived a big, messy life, proud of her successes, unabashed by her failures, the arthitect of her own legend. "I am the greatest conversation piece that ever existed", Pancho once said.

Pancho Barnes was an heiress who transformed herself into a daring aviatrix, besting Amelia Earhart in the skies. She was a stunt pilot for the notorious Howard Hughes, a script doctor for great German director Erich von Stroheim, and a drinking buddy of supersonic jet jockey Chuck Yeager. She operated a wild and wildly successful desert watering hole known as the Happy Bottom Riding Club. She sued the United States government -- and won big. She was a headstrong woman who didn't play by women's rules. And she paid the consequences.