Fergus O'Neill has a snug cabin, enough cordwood to see him through to spring, plenty of moose meat in the larder, and the lovely Morgan to share his fireside through the long winter months. He is content. Then Hard Case Calis, the famous Alaska State Trooper arrives at The Varmitage with disturbing news. Their friend, Haywood Jennings, has gone missing in a storm and the search for his little Piper aircraft has been grounded due to more bad weather. Bush pilot fatalities are not uncommon in Alaska, but Hard Case does not buy into the plane crash theory. He shows Gus a note Haywood left before he disappeared and convinces him that their friend may have fallen into the hands of a psychopath. With the harsh arctic winter fast approaching, they set off upstream to the headwaters of the Moose Jaw, where they hope to find Haywood and rescue him.