Jake MacDonald had lived almost his entire life in a remote cabin in the Alaskan subarctic. He was home-schooled by his mother, a former music teacher. From his father, he learned to hunt, fish, trap, and everything else a man needs to know to live a subsistence lifestyle. But his mother insisted that he finish his education at a real high school in a real town.

So, at 17, Jake heads for the interior city of Fairbanks. Jake knows how to field dress a 1500-pound moose. He knows how to run a shallow river in a jet boat and set a gill net for salmon. But navigating the challenges of his senior year at an overcrowded, 2,000-student high school? He hadn’t a clue.

Fortunately, 10 minutes into his first day, Jake meets Julie Peters, a pretty girl whose maturity and intelligence is every bit a match for his. They’re both eager to learn everything about each other’s world. But there’s one thing, one terrible secret about Jake that no one - not even Julie - can ever know.