In the middle of a rare mid-April blizzard in eastern Montana, young emergency room doctor Yvonne Endicott steps outside to help a truck that arrives in the middle of night, the occupants appearing desperate, in dire need of aid. Only once she is too far removed from the safety of the building does she realize their true intentions, the entire incident just beyond the scope of the front door cameras, everybody disappearing into a swirling storm of wind and snow.

Fielding the call for help is local sheriff Rake Ferris, a man so ingrained in the small community that he knows every person by their first name, takes every offense under his watch as a personal slight. Compounding the effect for him is a personal connection to the young doctor, forcing him to accept that the storm prevents any outside help from arriving and that the only aid he could possibly enlist comes in the form of Hawk Tate, the former DEA agent in town that has been the subject of widespread speculation since his arrival some years before.

Both men acting against their better judgment, Ferris and Hawk form an uneasy alliance, digging into the abduction to find a plot that runs much deeper than a simple kidnapping. Fighting against time, the elements, and even each other, they begin a chase that leads them through the booming eastern Montana oil fields, the blossoming drug trade that has taken hold there, and ultimately the power players behind all of it.