An old friend of Jim West is murdered in Big Bend National Park, Texas. The authorities have no witnesses and no leads. West is contacted by his friend's wife, now his widow, who asks him to meet her in Alpine, Texas. She's been asked to go there and identify the body, and she wants Jim there to support her. Although he'd rather not, Jim travels to Alpine and does what he can to help her. A joint investigative team has been established to run the investigation, and as the murder occurred on federal property, the FBI has the lead. A second seemingly unrelated murder occurs at the same location. At the same time, Jim is thrilled to discover that his long-distance romance has gotten closer when FBI Special Agent Rose Luna joins the team. When his friend's widow disappears and is later found dead, things begin to get personal. The son of the second victim arrives in Alpine. He's a retired police officer from San Antonio and starts aggressively interviewing his dad's acquaintances. The team asks Jim to stay with him to keep him from hurting anyone. A role Jim doesn't like, and one that soon puts the two into the crosshairs of the killer's sites.