This is book two in the Bear Walker series, the sequel to THE FOURTH ACE. The heydays of the gold rush brought many a would be millionaire to the mountains and streams of North Central Washington. The most feared and respected was prospector and mountain man, Bear Walker. But in this episode, Bear is the one subjected to fear. A fear he has never known when his prospector friends start dying from a mysterious cause. Panic sets in among the miners and many believe it's the plague. But the more Bear investigates, the more curious the situation becomes. He has never before seen anyone die like these miners are dying...