The evening before the eagerly awaited deer hunt

Dr. Lawrence A. Cooper (Coop) and three friends (Tim Slade, Wally Stroud, and Ian McKenna) gather at his mountain cabin. Almost immediately, Tim and Ian clash over religion, gun laws, and Ian’s rather liberal politics and lifestyle.

The hunt and the conflict

On the first day, Tim kills a magnificent buck using an assault rifle, highly illegal in the state of Utah. Not only does Ian witness this carnage, he documents it with photographs and threatens to expose Tim to the authorities.

The disappearance

The next day, however, an early fall blizzard blows in, and Ian and Wally go missing. Although Coop and Iron County Search and Rescue spend the better part of a week looking for Ian and Wally, they find no trace of them and no bodies are recovered. Coop assumes his friends’ disappearance is a storm-related natural disaster, but still wonders about Tim and Ian’s feud.

The murder and the suspicion

Then, when Tim Slade is murdered, there is no doubt something more sinister is at foot. As the only one of the original hunters left, Coop fears he might be next.

Includes Readers Guide.