Research scientist and amateur sleuth Robyn Devara is looking forward to a trip to the Yukon with her boyfriend, Kelt Roberson, when he tells about the bloody murder of a reclusive ptarmigan researcher. Robyn can't ignore a mystery and her curiosity is further piqued when she learns field notes have been left to her by the victim--an ornithologist named Selena Barry--a woman Robyn doesn't remember meeting.