Twenty years ago, the discovery of a rift to another world revitalized the nation's sagging economy, opening up exclusive access to new lands and resources. Now, in the midst of an uneasy peace with the native inhabitants, journalist and travel writer David Burns sets out into unauthorized territory, beyond the frontier, to gather material for his latest book. But when his helicopter goes down on a snow-covered mountainside, he finds himself in the company of three members of the local insurgency. On the journey that follows, David is forced to re-evaluate his comfortable assumptions about patriotism, terrorism, and the role of the journalist as a witness to events.