In her head, Libby Holden is planning her husband's funeral as she stands at the window waiting for him. He is extremely late returning from a solo wilderness camping trip to Canada. If something fatal hasn't already happened to him, he's a dead man when he does get home.
She should not be having these thoughts, but lately her thoughts have been about leaving him anyway. Since the death of their 12-year-old daughter three years ago, her marriage has not been the same. She blames Greg, her husband, for Lacey's death; although all he did was make her go to school that day when she wanted to stay home. Neither of them knew a crazed student would open fire with a gun and Lacey would be killed.
When Greg has been missing for more than a day, Libby calls the police and then Greg's father. The Canadian authorities are also notified and an aerial search of the area begins. Libby and Frank, her father-in-law, can't just wait around for something to happen. Frank suggests they retrace Greg's trip. They find his maps and plans and she, Frank, and her best friend, Jen, set out for Quetico Park.
The journey is a grueling one. This is real wilderness. No conveniences. You carry everything you need with you. And when a lake runs out, you carry your canoe and all your belongings across a strip of land to the next lake or river area. Libby has never done anything so hard in her life.
As the journey lengthens, Libby questions why she is doing this. She has almost already made up her mind to leave Greg, and now she is traipsing after him. Her thoughts and prayers lead her to understand that she is the one who put the wall up when Lacey was killed. Greg tried, but didn't know what to do for her. She shut him out and now she wants him back in her world, more than ever.
Along the way, they find a couple of items belonging to Greg and have some hope of finding him. But when they reach the end of their journey -- the end of his map -- they begin to lose hope. Then Frank discovers something on the map in very fine print that might be a clue to where Greg went. Will Greg be found dead or alive?
This is a compelling story of a woman coming to grips with her own feelings and faith. Cynthia Ruchti uses the element of humor to keep the reader engrossed in her story and turning the pages. This is a great debut novel!
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