With his high-pressure career drawing to a close, Larry Layton was ready to leave it all behind. He and his wife, Marge, sold their Minnesota home and retreated to a secluded cabin near a remote mountain town in Colorado. As autumn crept in, it carried subtle warnings—brittle winds, early frost—but Larry dismissed them. He believed he was ready for whatever Colorado might throw his way.

But he was wrong, and winter was already watching.