In Box's third Joe Pickett novel, the murder of an employee of Twelve Sleep National Forest leads investigators to a reclusive hunter with a grudge. But as Pickett examines the evidence further, he discovers the real culprits behind the crime are being used as scapegoats by the government to crackdown on a renegade group of rightwing woodland radicals called the Sovereigns. To complicate matters, Pickett's adopted daughter is kidnapped by her unstable birthmother and holed up in the Sovereign's compound. Box isn't afraid to take risks with his characters, who are subjected here to plenty of brutality, both physical and emotional.
—Michael Phillips