His footsteps halted and there was a heart-stopping moment when they only sound was that ominous dry rattle. Then a large stone came hurtling down the hillside, striking the snake squarely on its head. Another rock followed, this one crushing the viper beneath its weight. The echoes died and the rattling was still. Then Gabe was beside me, his strong arm around me, helping me to my feet. My fear-frozen muscles melted at his touch and suddenly I was too weak to stand. My arms found their way around his neck, and I realized that his breathing was as rapid as mine. Anna O'Neill is guiding her students through the last days of school when she gets the call that her brother has disappeared in the wilds of southern Utah. But when she arrives in Moab, she realizes that things just aren't adding up. With the help of filmmaker Gabriel Mahoney, Anna initiates her own search, pursuing leads into rugged Nine Mile Canyon, the seat of an ancient civilization whose lure may have pulled her brother to his death.