Ladd Hamilton's vivid storytelling brings to life the infamous murder of Lewiston merchant Lloyd Magruder in the Bitterroot Mountains during the 1860s Idaho-Montana gold rush.

Into the untamed vastness of the Bitterroot mountains go three young New York men, their guide, and a camp cook. This is to be the adventure of a lifetime, but it is already September. Ahead of the hunters, as they make their way up the Lolo Trail, are the record snows of 1893 and a cruel, controversial decision. Snowbound is the true story of the Carlin party, whose ill luck and bad judgment drove decent men to an ethical dilemma that intrigued the nation and still can raise an argument wherever people rub shoulders with wilderness.