Troubled travel writer Geoff Connelly came to Alaska looking for a break and an easy story to send home to his editor. But when he pulls up to the Sitka Lodge on the remote shores of beautiful Lake Iliamna, he finds a community racked by upheaval he didn’t anticipate: A new mine on the lake’s shore promises work, but threatens the pristine environment. Wealthy sportsman and CEO Philip Kendrick seems to have an unhealthy interest in the lake itself. And, most disconcerting of all, people—lodge guests and locals alike—are disappearing.

Now Geoff must decide whether to stay on the sidelines—as he has done since it’s become harder to manage his PTSD—or put himself at risk for something important. As he gets pulled farther into the lake’s mystery and the community around the lodge, Geoff finds himself teaming up with an alluring biologist named Renee Bach, the Sitka Lodge’s guarded but formidable owner Christa Yagulik, and a roguish documentary filmmaker named Mac MacDougall. But as people begin to die, Geoff starts to wonder who he can really trust. Soon it’s not only the scoop of the century that’s at stake for Geoff—it’s his very survival.