The Cradle Above the Abyss

Captain John Cole, USMC, is a Vietnam veteran, a renowned prosecutor, and a rising political star in New York politics. However, a week before prosecuting a particularly gruesome case, Cole receives a mysterious telephone call from an old acquaintance, and the message, “Black Hawk needs our help.”

Cole recalls the devastating ambush in Vietnam that nearly wiped out his platoon and how Corporal Buccanon blamed him for the disaster. Starting over and building a new life in New York City did nothing to erase the pain of that day from his memory.

Returning to Memphis, Tennessee, Cole reads a letter from Black Hawk and agrees to travel with Corporal Buccanon to Wolf Creek, South Dakota in search of the truth.

Cycling through the heartland of America, he encounters a young stranger, who gives him the gift of eternal life. And, while Corporal Buccanon battles with a deadly raven in the cornfields of Nebraska, Cole struggles with a beast in Tekamah who warns him to turn back before it’s too late.

At Wolf Creek, after discovering the truth about Black Hawk, Cole wants to return to New York, but, after meeting Little Flower, and Chief Long Wolf, he agrees to take the octogenarian and his granddaughter to the Annual Sun Dance Ceremony deep in the Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota.

During this gathering of the nation, Chief Long Wolf performs the last sacred duty of his office - selecting a new chief - before giving up his spirit to the beast. Left with the princess, and the belligerent Corporal Buccanon, Cole is forced to make a decision, one that might change his life and the lives of Little Flower and Corporal Buccanon forever.