Gus is out of his job and his marriage. He decides to make the best of his newfound freedom and to spend the summer at his newly acquired land parcel on the Moose Jaw creek. With some help from his best friend and hunting/fishing buddy Haywood, he builds himself a cabin. Haywood, a vet and a bush pilot, can stay only a few days at a time, which leaves Gus alone in the wilderness for several weeks.

Shortly after he completes the building of his cabin around the chimney that remains of the old cabin, he finds a young woman stranded and unconscious near his cabin. And there are some unsavory neighbors in the vicinity. Gus nurses her back to health and tries to figure out what happened. Things don't really add up, and then there's the big Grizzly with the distinctive thread...

Partly mystery, partly ghost story, this tale has a wry narrative voice, the description of the building progress and the daily activities - like finding his fishing spot between the bears during the salmon run - really put's you there, all the while you wait for the other shoe to drop. The story develops at a nice pace and leaves you nicely satisfied.

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