Double-Ought Buck

We all carry emotional baggage, and how we handle it can make or break us in the end. Sometimes, our baggage is so heavy, it creates a burden and we feel cursed. But sometimes, if we let things play out with open hearts and minds, what initially seems like a burden or curse ends up being a blessing.

Riley McGavran is a retired game warden and Vietnam veteran coping with alcoholism, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. As if that's not enough, he recently learned that an old friend is dying from cancer-so he decides to drive from California to Idaho to visit him.

While traveling, Riley picks up a hitchhiker named Abilene Kirkpatrick, who is headed to her ailing mother's bedside in Montana. Riley is intrigued by her atypical beauty and excited by the prospects of the journey. But his simple act of kindness opens into a nightmare, and the unlikely pair is dragged through ordeal after ordeal, pitted against ruthless criminals, corrupt forces, and each other's demons-including Riley's Vietnam flashbacks.

A thoughtful, intelligent, and literary look at the mixed bag of life, "Double-Ought Buck" tells an unforgettable love story against the backdrop of a thrilling adventure.