Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett's hunt for a fugitive reveals a conspiracy in this taut thriller in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Joe Pickett always liked Butch Roberson--a hard-working local business owner whose daughter is friends with Joe's girls. Little does he know that when Butch says he's heading into the mountains to scout elk, he is actually going on the run.

Two EPA employees have been murdered and all signs point to Butch as the killer. Joe learns that the land Butch and his wife had bought to retire on was declared a protected wetland by the EPA, and the subsequent fines have torn the family apart. Finally, it seems, the man just cracked.

It's an awful story, but is it the whole story? The more Joe investigates, the more he begins to wonder--and he soon finds himself in the middle of a war in which he must choose sides.