A rancher fighting for his land and family stumbles upon an unfathomable mystery at the edge of Wyoming’s wilderness, forcing a confrontation with the Unknown in ways both intimate and cosmic in the untamable American West.

Jim and his daughter Veronica, a young high-school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets. After a hoax goes very wrong, Jim’s daughter is falsely convicted of abusing her position of authority over 17-year-old Clive. Veronica is nevertheless convinced she deserves to be punished, but for much earlier crimes. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job as a food inspector. He wields great power over small family-owned restaurants; a power he doesn’t hesitate to use.

Larry, a 16-year-old Tlicho Indian, lives in the small northern town of Fort Simmer. He loves heavy metal music and has a crush on his classmate, the high school’s hottie, Juliet Hope. Larry’s past holds a variety of terrors—his father is abusive and he once had an accident that nearly killed him. When Johnny Beck , a young Métis from Hay River, moves to town, things heat up.