The story takes place in the Boundary Waters on the border of Minnesota and Canada in cold, raw, November. A man disappears from the middle of a lake, leaving behind an empty canoe and no sign of what happened to him or where he could have gone.

When the official search is called off, ex-Sheriff Cork O’Connor is asked by the man’s niece and nephew to keep looking. Even though Cork’s daughter’s wedding is approaching and the weather is threatening, Cork takes the job. When he doesn’t return and doesn’t call in for several days, his family and the current sheriff go looking for him in a float plane.

The story is full of gloom—the season, the weather, and Cork’s mood. He despises November; all bad things in his life have happened in November. He doesn’t understand why his daughter has planned a wedding in this gloomy month. But there is much warmth in the story, too—the connections between family and friends working together and even between the good guys and the bad guys. The author looks closely at the motivations of all the characters. Much of the mystery of this book is the “why” of what’s happening.

Interwoven throughout the novel is Native American lore and spirituality. It adds depth to an already interesting read.