Norman Paul Westhoff

In the 24th century, Canadian geologist Keltyn SparrowHawk flies to Antarctica, searching for the strategic mineral iridium. After her plane crash-lands, she and her crew are discovered by two teens from a local tribe of cattle-herders: orphan would-be gaucho Joaquin Beltran and horsewoman Luz Hogarth, who also seeks the elusive iris stone. Keltyn befriends them both, but now she must reckon with the volcano where the stone lies, the tribe’s hostile leaders, the hidden agenda of her sponsor back home, and rattling skeletons in her closet. Soon she plunges into an ill-conceived gamble that spirals into free-fall. Her two new friends are the only ones who can help, but each must first survive their own ordeals.