Overview

A storm moves through the mountains casting a blanket of snow over the buds of early spring. A cabin hunkered between granite boulders waits, cold and empty inside. Not before the storm has passed, these four walls are filled with the burning hopes and fears of a desperate killer and his hostage. Cyrus Loukas believes he's lost everything, and has come to what used to be his family's cabin, planning to murder the man he's projected all his disappointments on. He listens, with gun in hand, for a knock on the door. When it comes, Cyrus finds eleven-year-old Francis McGill shivering on the doorstep. The boy's grandfather has died and Francis doesn't think his camping trip can get worse. He's mistaken. When the door closes behind him, Francis will be the subject of Cyrus' debate on whether it is better for the young to die with their innocence intact. Outside the door: boot prints, shell casings, and the blood of local sheriffs mar the fallen snow. Cyrus doesn't need to deliberate on killing authority figures. When threats and gunfire fail to bring results, can the sheriff's conceive of a non-violent resolution? Cyrus has already killed three. Someone must face him unarmed if they want to save Francis. Soon they will learn that the person they need doesn't wear a badge or a holster.