While meeting up with one of her groups in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area of Colorado, hunting guide Allison Coil discovers the partial remains of a human body not far from camp. There are animal signs around what is left of the corpse, but did a wild animal cause the death? Allison fears not, but relies on the authorities for confirmation. While searching for more clues in the wilderness, she comes upon a remote campsite with some unusual hunters and their dogs. Allison is more than uneasy about the situation and decides to pursue the matter further.

Meanwhile, miles away at a lower elevation, a U.S. Senate candidate with some very controversial viewpoints is campaigning in Glenwood Springs when a sniper opens fire. When the man is shot, local newspaper reporter Duncan Bloom is close enough to be dodging bullets. Envisioning the story of a lifetime, Duncan is compelled to explore the circumstances that caused the shooting.

Allison and Duncan soon find their separate investigations intertwined as they expose a dark and deadly conspiracy, which has incomprehensible repercussions for their community -- and the state of Colorado.

TRAPLINE, the third Allison Coil thriller by Mark Stevens, is a powerful novel with brilliant imagery of Colorado's high country and its realistic inhabitants. The suspenseful, ingenious plot will keep readers engaged throughout until the riveting conclusion.