Val Haverford's sci-fi and Western novels made him a household name. But that was a decade ago. Creative stagnation led Val to withdraw into his idyllic cabin at the edge of Chicago's lakefront, as far from the press and prying fans as possible. When a number of people disappear after violent attacks, Val is pulled into a plot darker than any he could pen. As he digs into a dystopian conspiracy with disturbing similarities to incidents in his youth,...