The River Will Do It

Andrei Yudin can hear water moving under snow, a gift that keeps sixty sledges of sable alive on the frozen Tolba and keeps him barely tolerated by Russians and herders alike. Then a lieutenant with ruined accounts murders a party of hunters and needs a witness to swear it was a native revolt. Andrei refuses. Left on fresh overflow to freeze by the friend who once delivered his son, he has eleven days, four dogs, no gun, and a valley to warn.