In a remote military outpost in the 19th century, Captain John Boyd and his regiment embark on a rescue mission which takes a dark turn when they are ambushed by a sadistic cannibal.
Captain John Boyd receives a promotion after defeating the enemy command in a battle of the Mexican-American War, but because the general realizes it was an act of cowardice that got him there, he is given a backhanded promotion to Fort Spencer, where he is third in command. The others at the fort are two Indians, George and his sister Martha, who came with the place; Chaplain Toffler; Reich, the soldier; Cleaves, a drugged-up cook; and Knox, who is frequently drunk. When a Scottish stranger named Colquhoun appears and recovers from frostbite almost instantly after being bathed, he tells a story about his party leader, Ives, eating members of the party to survive. As part of their duty, they must go up to the cave where this occurred to see if any have survived. Only Martha, Knox, and Cleaves stay behind. George warns that since Colquhoun admits to eating human flesh, he must be a Wendigo, a ravenous cannibalistic creature.—Scott Hutchins <[email protected]>
Despite being promoted to US Army Captain for his acts of heroism during the Mexican-American War, John Boyd, in the approach to winter 1847, is nonetheless reassigned by his commanding officer, General Slauson, from San Miguel to the remote outpost of Fort Spencer located on the western side of the Sierra Nevadas, it which is primarily used as a way-station for those traversing the mountains. It operates on a skeleton crew during the off season, this season having a ragtag crew of five army personnel led by Colonel Hart, plus two local indigenous persons who "come with the fort", adult siblings George and Martha. Shortly after Boyd's arrival at Fort Spencer, a barely-alive man, F.W. Colqhoun, stumbles into their environs. After they are able to nurse him back to some health, Colqhoun tells a story of his party surviving on cannibalism on those that died of malnutrition, turning to the party leader, a U.S. Army Colonel Ives, ending up having an insatiable appetite for human flesh leading to him killing other members of the party. Colqhoun escaped from Ives, leaving only one other survivor of their party, a Mrs. MacCready, alone with Ives. Following Colqhoun's directions, Colonel Hart leads a small team to the cave where Colqhoun left Ives to rescue Mrs. MacCready, if she is still alive, and bring Colonel Ives to justice for his heinous acts. This mission begins what ends up being the cat-and-mouse game between Ives and specifically Boyd. The progress of the game and its outcome are largely affected by Boyd's own demons--which arose from the war and were the reason he was reassigned--Ives having a short term goal which has a more-sustainable long-term outcome, if there is any truth to the indigenous legend told by George, that those that eat the flesh of their enemies absorb both the strength and spirit of the consumed, and the balance between Boyd and Ives' individual instinct for survival versus their moral strength.—Huggo
A soldier in the Mexican-American war in 1847 is promoted to captain for his perceived bravery but is soon transferred to a remote outpost in the Sierra Nevadas when the cowardly truth becomes evident. The outpost's keepers seem on the brink of madness in their own ways, and what passes for their tranquility is shattered by the intrusion of the lone survivor of an ill-fated expedition that ended in murder and cannibalism.—Brian J. Wright <[email protected]>
