"A double-barreled blast of action, narrative, and impossible-to-fake authenticity with a great sense of place and a terrific protagonist. I'm looking forward to many more Arliss Cutter thrillers." --C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author on Open Carry

After an early spring thaw on the Alaskan coast, Anchorage police discover a gruesome new piece of evidence in their search for a serial killer: a dismembered human foot.

In Kincaid Park, a man is arrested for attacking a female jogger. Investigators believe they have finally captured the sadistic serial killer. But one deputy is sure they have the wrong man.

In the remote northern town of Deadhorse, Alaska, Deputy US Marshal Arliss Cutter escorts three handcuffed prisoners onto a small bush plane on route to Anchorage. It's a routine mission and a nonstop flight--or so he thinks. When the plane makes an unexpected landing in the middle of nowhere, all hell breaks loose.

Back in Anchorage, deputy Lola Teariki has traced the dismembered foot to a missing girl--and the serial psychopath who slaughtered her. It's one of the prisoners on Cutter's flight . . .

Cutter has to battle the unforgiving elements while the cold-blooded killer wants his head on a stick. Here in Alaska, nature can be cruel--but this time, human nature is crueler . . .