Live by the law, die by the talon.

Griffin Ranger Harrell White-shoulders is undisputed master of his territory. His word is law, and he enforces it with deadly beak and talons. He’s never encountered a problem he can’t overcome…until now.

An exotic griffin from the other side of the world, Kwaperramusc is the premier Investigator for the Griffin Rangers. He’s never come across a crime he couldn't solve or a mystery he couldn't unravel… until now.

When Ranger Harrell receives news that his adolescent daughter Aera and four of her friends have vanished while traveling through the Great Plains, he flies far from his familiar territory to the isolated prairie town where she was last seen. Along with the Investigator and their young assistant Tirrsill, Harrell is determined to find out what happened, no matter how many bodies he has to go through to do it.

In the town of Crossline Plains, Harrell and the Investigator deal with uncooperative local griffins and outright hostility from the immigrant Greenies. He has no idea of the terrible secret he’s about to uncover, something so dangerous that those behind it are willing to kill Ranger Harrell, the Investigator, and anyone else with him in order to keep it hidden.

And all of Harrell’s strength, courage, and skill might not be enough to stop them.