January is known as the dead season in the small Smoky mountain community of Hanover County, North Carolina. For dog trainer and wilderness expert Raine Stockton, who hasn't had a client in six month, this season has been deader than most. When the New Day Wilderness Program for Troubled Teens offers her a job leading a group of students on a winter camping expedition as part of their rehabilitation program, Raine jumps at the chance-- particularly since it means she will be able to take her golden retriever, Cisco, with her. But something is not right at New Day, and Raine and Cisco soon find themselves caught in a web of intrigue, suspicion and sabotage. As the group moves deeper into the wilderness beneath steadily worsening weather, Raine begins to fear she and Cisco may soon find themselves trapped on the mountainside... with a killer.