Cat Latimer and her writer's retreat group go on a hiking trip—but a murderer has been lurking off the beaten path . . .

Cat's sweetheart, Seth, is going all out on an outing into the local mountains—for the benefit of the writing group Cat's hosting at her Colorado B&B. But when they try to identify some plant and animal life, they find death instead. The body belongs to a man with a gold claim a few miles away. Instead of striking it rich, he's been struck down.

To his surprise, Seth recognizes the victim from his military days—and up to now believed he'd already died during his last tour of duty. Now Cat has to solve this mystery before the killer takes a hike . . .