Mark Baxter, the main character, an ex-Navy Seal, DEA operative, retired, yet still young in his forties. His current status explained in the story. Mark, living at Lake Tahoe, Nevada, an avid hiker and outdoorsman with no job is on one of his mountain hikes/climbs in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when he witnesses the crash of an aircraft in his vicinity. He hurries to the site to discover the contents of the aircraft. The contents are three deceased individuals and a cache of cocaine and lots of cash. Mark weighs morality versus desire/need of what is before him. Desire and need wins out....