Seven months after cheating death in the dark waters of Hemlock Lake, Dan Stone discovers a search dog trainer and his dogs shot down at a remote cabin in the Catskill Mountains. Only one young dog, badly wounded, survives the attack. No longer wearing a badge and intent on rebuilding the family home and making a life with Camille, Dan feels an obligation of blood to Clarence Wolven, a distant relative. He arranges the funeral and adopts the three-legged dog he names Nelson. When the sheriff's investigation stalls, Dan returns to the cabin with Jefferson Longyear. They feel the presence of Clarence's angry ghost and Nelson bolts into the forest. Trailing him deep into rugged "forever wild" land, they discover a serial killer's dump site. That grisly find is just the first. As summer wears on, Dan suspects the killer is taunting him and may even be someone he knows. Goaded by a ghost he only half believes in, Dan is drawn deeper into the investigation until his life and that of a young girl depend on a dog's loyalty and a sniper's aim.