In the Vercors mountains, a sun-soaked, wind-swept setting, a murder brings the forest inhabitants out into the light. Preppers and Kosovan traffickers emerge…

A serious brain injury forces police captain Paul Brunel to return to the region where he spent a happy childhood. But the rural reality behind the majestic landscape is harsh. Farms lying fallow, men and women pushed to the point of breaking, minds corrupted by the fear of chaos.

The discovery of a young farmer’s body, tied to barbed wire, brings crazed criminals and unstable conspiracy theorists out of the woods. And caught up in it is Paul’s childhood friend and his wife, Elsa, the police captain’s first love. All against the backdrop of the raging white waters and silence of the mountains.

A word from the publisher:

Alain Choquart’s background in the world of cinema (assistant director and director of photography for Bertrand Tavernier amongst others) is evident in his first noir novel. Atmospheric and firmly rooted in the Vercors landscape, it immerses readers in one of those remote rural areas in decline that have long since been forgotten by the media.

Exploring the classic homecoming narrative, Alain Choquart has written a poignant rural noir where everyone does what it takes to survive, even if it means crossing the boundaries of the law. Despite the natural beauty, nature is far from a lost paradise, and crime, drug trafficking and mindless violence are just as rife as in the city.