Henry Ernst has a secret. It's been guarded by his family for over 170 years-but he's the last of the family line. He hires Austin Brenner, a well-known and respected investigative reporter for the Austin Independent-Tribune, to assist him in writing the story of this long-kept secret.
The story begins in 1853 in Kirchdorf, Germany. Gunther Pfadler, the patriarch of the Pfadler family, Ernst's great-grandfather, emigrates to the U.S. and settles in the hill country of Texas, near the current Lake Buchanan in Llano County. What happens to the family, once settled in their new home, forms the basis for their "secret" and the consequences for the male heirs who have kept it.
Brenner quickly finds that Ernst is an enigma, as the reporter tries to unravel his true identity and the incredible circumstances behind the secret.
Ernst forms a close bond with Brenner as he reveals the secret bit by bit and Brenner works to verify each of his revelations.
The Secret of Pfadler's Mountain is a Sci-Fi mystery wrapped around a glimpse into the history of the German migration that contributed so much to the development of Texas.