A Mating in the Wilds

A young man and his Indigenous companion navigate a northern river to investigate a missing canoe and its occupant, encountering island searches, a broken paddle with a bullet mark, treacherous currents, cliffs, and growing mystery. The journey moves between tense episodes—midnight attacks, rescues, a forest fire, and a raft escape—and discoveries at a remote lodge that reveal a dead girl, prisoners, and shifting loyalties. Personal accounts from a native hunter and the protagonist gradually disclose motives and past events, and the pursuit through wilderness leads toward a final revelation and a contested refuge.