When the dead and beaten body of Jimmy Raincloud is discovered by a snowplow driver on a rural road, tension heats up between the white population of Scanlon Creek and the Native Americans of Sky Lake.

Scanlon Creek and Sky Lake have coexisted uneasily for years, their geographical closeness belying the wide cultural gulf between them. Racial animosity is never far from the surface, and it becomes increasingly volatile as more Native youths are found murdered in the wilderness outside of Scanlon Creek.

Primary investigator Hank Gillespie and partner Stephanie Whirlwind delve into the disturbing serial murders. Hank is plagued by vivid nightmares relating to the case, and he believes there may be a link to a mass murder committed by the Reverend Walter Tillman years before. The case proves to be one of police corruption, drug dealing, and depravity. Previous alliances between violent suspects are strained, and new ones are born, as the murders reshape the landscape of the criminal underworld. Hank and Stephanie must try to save their own lives as they uncover the true identity of the killer.