A storm is coming-and not everyone will survive what's been buried. When journalist John Carter returns to his hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains for a funeral, he's forced to confront the ghosts he thought he left behind: a childhood friend lost to cancer, a woman he never stopped loving, and Rick Mendoza-the volatile former best friend who never forgave him for walking away. But something is waiting in the woods. As a violent storm traps them deep in the Appalachian wilderness, long-buried secrets rise to the surface. Old betrayals reignite. And the past begins to unravel with deadly consequences. Taut, emotional, and unforgettable, Beneath the Storm and Ashes is a darkly lyrical thriller about grief, memory, and the monsters we carry with us.