Thomas Brennan knew his first hunt would be special, but when a two-colored stag appears in the forest by his home, he quickly realizes he cannot shoot the beautiful animal. Instead, the buck is killed by Mr. Williams, the cruel landowner that employs Tom's family. The piebald buck's death bothers Tom more than it should, and soon bizarre things begin to happen: songbirds vanish, the forest grows menacing, and Tom suddenly finds himself the sole caretaker of a mysterious white fawn . . . Clarisse Williams isn't especially surprised when her father brings home a dead piebald deer; as an avid hunter, he has exhibited a fondness for the bizarre and unusual. However, Clarisse can't explain her own fascination with the poor stag, or why nightmares wake her and lead her outdoors in the middle of winter, or why her neighbor Tom snoops around her barn at midnight . . .
Together, the children attempt to protect their precious charge while hunting for information. What links the piebald stag so closely to the forest? What force stopped Tom from killing the buck? What draws Clarisse to the piebald's smooth, straight antlers?
What is the white fawn?