1703, the settlement of Charles-Town, South Carolina. Matthew Corbett, a professional troubleshooter, agrees to an unusual but profitable assignment: escort a beautiful woman to a masquerade ball.
This pleasant mission is abruptly interrupted by a horrific murder of a sixteen-year-old girl who was stabbed on a local plantation. The main suspect is a slave who is trying to avoid punishment by hiding with two family members in the mysterious depths of a neighboring swamp. Understanding that in this story nothing is quite as obvious as it seems, Matthew intends to establish justice and joins the search for the runaway slaves.
To do so, he sets off on a dangerous journey up the River of the Sun—also known as the River of Spirits. His first discovery is that something living in these swamps has joined the hunt… and the target of this pursuit is not the criminals, but the hunters themselves.
The travelers face countless trials: snakes, alligators, savages, mythical animals, and simple human betrayal. This nightmare ride up the River of Spirits will truly test Matthew’s endurance, force him to rethink the past, and lead him to the moment that will change his life forever.