Plot Summary

Buck Thompson comes from a long line of forest services professionals, he currently working alongside his fellow rangers, his sister Roma and his cousin Amara, who oversee Wayne Forest. They used to work under the direction of Buck and Roma's recently retired mother, Janine, who still wants to do her part in the work as she sits behind a desk and computer. An Afghanistan War veteran, Buck, who quietly suffers from PTSD, has a slightly strained relationship with his mother who didn't tell him at the time, as he was fighting in the war, of his father's passing, not allowing Buck to say his goodbyes. Buck is currently acting as the liaison and guide to city slicker Martin Lamont, who represents the multinational which acquired the mining rights in an effort to be able to develop the adjacent property as they want. In the process, Buck has to evict geologist Jessica Alaway and her companion, her faithful and very protective dog Charlie, from what was an unused ranger station, he unaware that Jessica was either there or using it as the base for her work. In turn, Jessica has an initial antagonism to Buck in being the messenger. Some carelessly left materials by Lamont's crew in combination with a lightning storm ignites a fire which spreads throughout the forest. While Amara, Roma and Janine work various angles of the fire itself, Buck flies to the ranger station to evacuate Jessica and Charlie. However, Buck, Jessica and Charlie end up without any workable communication devices as they try to outrun the fire necessarily on the ground. In addition, they have to battle other elements as well as injury and Buck's PTSD. In the process, Buck and Jessica end up making a human connection, one that may last the long term if they are able to make it out of the forest alive.—Huggo