If you enjoy a great mystery and gritty characters, give this historical novel a try. The Canadian wilderness of 1867 is the setting for this well researched mystery. Mrs. Ross' son, Francis, disappears the same day that Laurent Jammet's body is found scalped in his cabin. The murder brings together a diverse assembly of characters, each with his own reason for wanting to find the murderer. With no other suspects, the characters begin to trail Francis into the frigid depths of the wilderness. Penney's absorbing narrative reveals the characters, each a kind of outcast, through whose viewpoints this multi-layered story is told.