Quill is jogging in the woods on the reservation where she lives and she hears a scream. She drops down and exits in order to report the scream, but can't let it go. The story broadens to be about missing and murdered Indigenous girls and women and the power of community. 

I didn't initially find it plausible that Quill would cling to so little evidence and feel compelled to investigate on her own without at least a little more indication the scream meant something. Shortly after this impression I realized that this was my upbringing and privilege. 

Of course white women are vulnerable and preyed upon, but not to the extent of women from marginalized groups, and white women are also thought to trust authority and to not overstep. I hear a scream, and don't feel safe investigating, I tell the authorities, send up a prayer for the best, and hope it's all okay.

That's not Quill, and, really, thank God that's not Quill. She feels an obligation to her friends, family. and community and knows that her choices might lead to the only justice any of the missing girls and women will receive. 

As a Northern Minnesotan, the setting was fun, especially the scenes in Duluth which I could vividly imagine. The accuracy of the constant effort to dress appropriately for winter, especially when there's a giant lake making the cold colder. Knowing this only increased the concern for those missing. 

I enjoyed so many of the characters: Quill and Crow and their kids, Punk and Gaelyn, Barbie, and the more minor characters who make up this community. 

Marcie Rendon has so many important things to say about trauma, the toll of living with anxiety and heightened vigilance, and how communities can build their own safety nets when those in power can't or won't help.