Alaska, 1974. The Allbrights are a family in crisis. They are alone, living off the grid, in a harsh and unforgiving wilderness. Ernt Allbright has come home the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man and has made the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north to America's last true frontier.

Cora Allbright will do anything for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the ripetide of her parents' passionate, stormy, relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future.

Even though they have found a small, independent community of strong men and even stronger women, winter is approaching, darkness is descending, and Ernt's fragile mental state is deteriorating. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: They are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.