After an early spring thaw on the Alaskan coast, Anchorage police discover a gruesome new piece of evidence in their search for a serial killer, a dismembered human foot. In Kincaid Park, a man is arrested for attacking a female jogger. Investigators believe they have finally captured the sadistic serial killer. But, one deputy is sure they have the wrong man. In the remote northern town of Deadhorse, Alaska, Deputy US Marshal Arliss Cutter escorts three handcuffed prisoners onto a small bush plane on route to Anchorage. The men have been charged with racketeering, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. But, Cutter doesn't expect any trouble from them. It's a routine mission and a nonstop flight, or so he thinks. When the plane makes an unexpected landing in the middle of nowhere, all hell breaks loose. The prisoners murder a pilot and guard. The plane is torched and blown up. And the last few survivors are forced to flee into the wilderness. But, their nightmare's just beginning. Back in Anchorage, deputy Lola Teariki has traced the dismembered foot to a missing girl, and the serial psychopath who slaughtered her. It's one of the prisoners on Cutter's flight. Now it's a deadly game of survival. With no means of communication, few supplies, and ravenous grizzly bears and wolves lurking in the shadows, Cutter has to battle the unforgiving elements, while the cold-blooded killer wants his head on a stick. Here in Alaska, nature can be cruel, but this time, human nature is crueler.