On a lonely stretch of road in the middle of a cold, dark, and rain-swept night, a lone Montana deputy sheriff is gunned down by a wanted fugitive, and an intense manhunt ensues. Deep inthe back country, Forest service law enforcement officer Tom Masters patrols the wilderness on horseback, hunting for a killer grizzly, unaware that the fugitive is heading into the same areahe now patrols. Lightning strikes start a wildfire that grows at an alarming rate just a few miles south of Tom’s position, adding a challenging new element to the already perilous events thatescalate and eventually culminate in the Scapegoat.