For anthropology graduate student Sam Delgado, headed to the wilds of Wyoming, this is his last chance to save his graduate career. He and his urban classmates see this as the adventure of a lifetime: They are going to horse-pack in the wilderness to map and test a high-altitude archaeological site.

Until a cyber attack collapses the American banking system, and an already fractured nation descends into anarchy and chaos. All credit frozen, Sam and his archaeological field school is trapped in their high-altitude camp. With return to the East impossible, Sam, the woman he has come to love, and the rest of the students must rely on hard-bitten Wyoming ranchers for their very survival.

Guided only by an illusive Shoshone spirit helper, Sam will discover the meaning of self-sacrifice. Even at the cost of his life.

Haunting, provoking, frightening and prescient - in the end, all that stands between civilization and barbarism is one young man's courage and belief in himself.

"Gear is a master when it comes to vividly described settings: you can smell the smoke, hear the wind in the trees, and feel the cold."