When a Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist discovers human DNA in water samples collected from a remote creek in the Cascade Mountains, game warden Luke McCain and Yakima County sheriff’s deputy Ashley Whitman are sent into the wilderness to investigate. What they find is a dead man with a bullet hole in his forehead—and a gold pan hidden in the brush nearby.
 
As Luke and Whitman search for answers, another murdered man turns up in the same rugged stretch of mountains. Then they discover enormous boot prints, a mysterious pile of shattered quartz, and signs that someone has been searching the wilderness for more than game. With gold prices at record highs, Luke begins to wonder if an old-fashioned motive is behind the killings.
 
With his loyal yellow Lab, Jack, at his side, Luke follows the clues deeper into the William O. Douglas Wilderness, where a hidden canyon and a trail of blood lead toward a secret someone is willing to kill to protect.
 
As Luke and Whitman close in on the truth, they find themselves facing a pair of ruthless killers—and a fortune in Cascade gold worth dying for.