Despite the violent deaths of Cork O'Connor's wife, father, and best friend in previous Novembers, his daughter has chosen this dismal time of year to marry, and Cork is uneasy. Then a man camping in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness goes missing. As the official search ends with no recovery, Cork is asked by the man's family to stay on the case. With the wedding fast approaching and the weather threatening, he heads to the wilderness on his own. Cork's family anxiously awaits his return. Certain that something has gone wrong, they fly to the lake where the missing man was last seen. Locating Cork's campsite, they find no sign of their father.