When the dead and beaten body of Jimmy Raincloud is discovered by a snowplow driver on a rural road, tension heats up between the white population of Scanlon Creek and the Native Americans of Sky Lake.

Scanlon Creek and Sky Lake have coexisted uneasily for years, their geographical closeness belying the wide cultural gulf between them. Racial animosity is never far from the surface, and it becomes increasingly volatile as more Native youths are found murdered in the wilderness outside of Scanlon Creek.

Primary investigator Hank Gillespie and partner Stephanie Whirlwind delve into the...