Winter in South Dakota. Blowing snow icy roads a tired driver. A bus skids & crashes & is stranded in a gathering storm. Theres a small town twenty miles away where a vulnerable witness is guarded around the clock. Theres a strange stone building five miles further on all alone on the prairie. Theres a ruthless man who controls everything from the warmth of Mexico. Jack Reacher hitched a ride in the back of the bus. A life without baggage has many advantages. & crucial disadvantages too when it means facing the arctic cold without a coat. But hes equipped for the rest of his task. He doesnt want to put the world to rights. He just doesnt like people who put it to wrongs.