Backpacking into the Wind River Mountains on their tenth annual trip, Mack and his wife, Vonnie, find the magnificent woods and stunning mountains of Wyoming full of ghosts and danger. Mack comes from a long line of ranchers, and his dedication to keeping the family land has led him into penury and a life of crime. Vonnie is a fiercely intelligent, headstrong girl who came west for love, only to have it stolen from her bit by bit.

They’ve made this trip to say goodbye to each other, but as they navigate the trails they know so well, they come to understand the true nature of their wounds. And Mack has one more secret: he is trying to receive a signal and retrieve something that has fallen from the sky. It is a beacon that will lead them into a wood far darker than they’ve ever imagined. Ron Carlson’s love for the mountains and his mastery of fiction radiate in the pages of this thrilling, fast-paced love story.

Ron Carlson has received citations in Best American Short Stories twelve times since 1984. His work has appeared in Harper?s, GQ, North American Review, Esquire, and Double Take. He is the author of two previous collections, Plan B for the Middle Class and The News of the World, and two novels, Betrayed by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Truants. He teaches creative writing at Arizona State and lives in Scottsdale.