Dave 'Bad News' Barnes is a deputy sheriff who has transferred from the busy atmosphere of Las Vegas to a tranquil town in northeast Washington. On an autumn morning he responds to a call of an animal mutilation near Hoodoo Mountain. Later he is informed by another deputy, who is Native American, that the killer may be a supernatural creature thought to be a little-known mythical creature. This may explain the area's history of missing people, or it may be just a bedtime story.

Thus begins the tale of a deputy, the town's occupants, and how they become involved over time as the nights become dark earlier and the months grow cold, and people and their pets begin going missing... again. As October moves into November and then December, the snow begins to cover up clues. As the mystery deepens, so does the body count.

Deputy Barnes keeps track of the citizenry and searches for clues, real and otherwise, that offer possible solutions as to what is happening to the people and pets in the city and the outlying areas.

A tough and energetic female deputy adds to the intrigue and suspense as she just might be the one person who can unravel and close this case - for good.