During the breakfast hours of a late autumn morning, a local locksmith disappears from his secluded farmhouse. He isn't reported missing until the following night, when a guest at a nearby mountain resort locks herself out of her room. The resort staff is forced to call in Teller Stolmhate, a locksmith from the nearby city. Tel agrees to cover the workload of the missing man until his return.
By the time Tel returns home he has three new problems:
He is being stalked by a client.
He is being investigated by the police.
And there is something in the forest itself that wants Tel's attention. It is connected to the secret he keeps in a box under his bed.
Approximately 80,000 words/270 pages.