In fever-pitch, heart-stopping race against time, Deputy U.S. Marshal Arliss Cutter and his partner brave Alaskaâs unforgiving, brutal wilderness of snow and ice to save a government witness from cold-blooded assassins in New York Times bestselling author and former U.S. Marshal Marc Cameronâs breathless, taut new adventure thriller for fans of Paul Doiron, CJ Box, and William Kent Krueger.
Deputy U.S. Marshal Arliss Cutter and his partner brave the unforgiving, brutal Alaskan wilderness of snow and ice to save a government witness from cold-blooded assassins . . .
In the White Mountain Wilderness of Interior Alaska, twenty-four-year-old protected witness Sam Lujan is lonely for his old life. So much so, the young Apache not only breaks the cardinal rule of the Witness Protection Programâby revealing his whereabouts to his mother, he invites her to join him to see the Northern Lights. Itâs her lifelong dream. No worries. Itâll be safe.
When Deputy U.S. Marshals Arliss Cutter and Lola Teariki discover Sam has gone missing, theyâre asked to make a quick trip into the remote wild to make sure the witness is indeed protected. But thereâs no such thing as a quick trip. Not when theyâre plunging headlong into the frozen unknown at fifty-eight degrees below zero. And not when they arenât the only ones searching. Valeria Kot, the vengeful daughter of the criminal Sam testified against, has been waiting and watching for years for just the opportunity to strike back. Sheâs found itâand has dispatched a sadistic hit squad to make sure Sam pays in the most savage way possible.
Once Arliss and Lola reach the trailhead it doesnât take long for them to realize theyâre dealing with more than a witness whoâs broken protocol. Tracks in the snow and tell-tale signs signal an armed teamâone thatâs already a step ahead of them. For Arliss and Lola, and a desperate mother and son on the run, the death-defying, frigid temperatures are the least of their worries.