In the Stanley Valley it's Blue State vs. Red when it comes to wolves. It's Cowboy Noir as reasonable people go into an unreasoning spiral of anger and passion. Annie Mann is for the wolfpacks and against Wilhelm Spatz. They once shared a bed; now it's just hate. She fears his hunting camps are a cover for poaching on an industrial scale. He thinks the out-of-state Big Money Liberals will turn Montana into boutique grasslands. Events come to a head over the disappearance of two young Stanford researchers. The subsequent manhunt brings in the FBI's Colby White, working with Sheriff Ben Manyhorse. But it is the Wolf Hunter, arriving from the far North, who may break open the situation. His gun will tip the balance--once he picks a side.