Life is difficult and often unexpected in 1910 frontier Alaska. Sig's father dies, accidentally frozen to death when he attempts to cross a thawing lake. Fourteen year old Sig is left to guard the corpse while his step mother and sister travel to the distant town for help. Sig's grief and loneliness is soon interrupted by a violent mysterious stranger who claims that Sig's father owes him a fortune in gold. Sig knows nothing about any fortune, but he does know that there is a loaded Colt revolver hidden in the cabin. If only he could get to it -- then again, Sig's only fired the gun once in his life, and never thought his life might depend on aiming it at another human being, no matter how terrifying the circumstances.
This is a taut, tightly written novel of suspense with the added pressure of the forbidden frozen Alaskan landscape. Give yourself lots of time -this is a hard one to put down!
