The story opens in the summer of 1974 Mammoth
Lakes California in Mono County. A couple happen
upon thugs in the nearby forest and a drug deal
going wrong and the dealers shoot them, bury the
bodies in shallow graves.
The man Wyler Scott is covered with a plastic
sheet, while his wife is raped and then murdered by
the infamous serial rapist's murderer who later is
dubbed the "Screwdriver Killer" Left for dead, the
killers leave.
Later that night, a large Sasquatch digs up
Wyler who was still breathing under the cover over
his face. He sits up startling the creature.
The people who committed the crimes have the
local coroners office burned down, which destroys
the body and evidence.
Fast forward to a wintery setting of March 1978
and we find that Wyler Scott is now the fictitional
sheriff of Mono County California which includes
the Mammoth Lakes area. The popular, tough
no-nonsence sheriff is on the personal hunt for his
wife's killer years later.
The screwdriver killer has re-emerged, but that
isn't all of the County Sheriff's Department's
problems. It seems a local Real Estate agent
"Clarence Culligan" has shafted the local Ute
Indians of their holy lands and now they are
rioting. This also is rumored to be tied into
disappearances of local townsfolk by angry
Sasquatches called Nünümusi by the Ute
Indians.
As the pressure mounts, the town wants answers
and then there is the newsmedia riding the
sensational stories on Wyler Scott and his
department. Meanwhile, the Culligan's are setting
up drug manufacturing operations in the local
forests and have released a kidnapped Grizzly Bear
from a city zoo, injected it with rabies and turned
it loose on the community.
However, all is not going the way the Culligan's
want as the sheriff's department begins to find
leads that lead right back to Clarence Culligan and
his sons, thanks to a mock rape attempt on a local
resident Linda Wright. Linda's toddler daughter
Annie has befriended the local Nünümusi,
who saves her life, but causes the rapist to
retreat inside the cabin. The sheriff investigates
and inflicts some pain on the injured
criminal/rapist who carried a screwdriver, before
the ambulance attendants arrive, but is he the real
killer?
With the Sasquatch kidnappings, the leader of
the local Ute Indians, Ned tells his old friend
Wyler of a cave near the base of Wheeler Mountain
in the eastern Sierras. Wyler soon discovers it is
true and walks right through a wall. He is now
standing on the soil of an alien world with two
suns and a giant moon. Behind him is a desert and
distant mountain ranges and ahead of him a meadow
with green grasses, grazing horses and it opens
into a large valley bordered by hills to the north
he presumes.
The sheriff reaches the meadows, but cannot walk
past some type of invisible shield protecting it
from intruders, however a horse seems able to pass
through this shield with ease. There are no
kidnapped victims here and Wyler suspects it best
to leave this place he calls "The Other World"
The case begins to bust wide opened as the
sheriff realizes this is much bigger than the evil
serial killer. In his cabin at night, the Culligans
are waiting and knock the sheriff onto the floor
where one Clarence Culligan shoots Wyler almost
point blank in the chest leaving the unconscious
lawman for dead. This soon turns out to be a fatal
mistake on Culligan's part as the sheriff had been
wearing a bulletproof vest.
Alive but injured, the local doctor tapes
Wyler's ribs and the sheriff gets a wiretapping
warrant issued on Culligan. Meanwhile, he is
setting things up and decides to head south to the
town of Bishop California and soon confronts
Clarence Culligan in his real estate offices..
Clarence acts polite under his demeanor as he
discusses "Climbing Mountains" with the sheriff,
which will be repeated several times throughout the
series titles as well as its offshoot series.
Wyler has set the trap and now gains knowledge
through the wiretap where Culligan's mercenaries
and snipers are in the local forests. The sheriff
deputizes townfolk's as well as the angry Utes and
goes to confront the Culligan army. In the process,
Culligan's daughter Angie is killed by Wyler's
bullet. The sheriff had a earlier affair with this
beautiful woman, yet wasn't aware of the direct tie
to her father.
As the good guys take down the mercenaries and
henchmen, Culligan flees the town, his sons taken
captive by the Nünümusi and disappeared
to another alternate world. (Something we shall
learn of in future Wyler Scott novels) The Other
World!
Several days have passed and there is a call.
Sheriff, I have kidnapped your friend Kathleen (the
local head Ranger for the area) and I'll kill her
unless you tell nobody and agree to meet me in
...the Historical Ghost Town of Bodie California.
Deviate this instruction and her blood's on your
hands, sheriff! We are monitoring you, call nobody
else.
Deputy Wayne Steep spots the sheriff leaving
Mammoth and has a notion. He gathers the other
deputies.
Wyler speedloads his Big Dan Wesson VH44 magnum
revolver and takes out several of Culligan's
henchmen in town before his capture.
Clarence has Wyler brought to the saloon where
he has Kathleen. Then he beats Wyler to the floor
and tells Wyler he's going to do Kathleen with a
screwdriver in his hand, that he is the real
Screwdriver Killer who did the sheriff's original
wife while holding the gun in his other hand.
Having enough, Kathleen breaks down
hysterically, arms the henchman, makes for a
getaway and Wyler sticks a knife through Culligan's
ankle, gains control of the fallen Dan Wesson gun,
shoots both henchmen as Kathleen stands back and
Culligan exits.
On the hill, the sheriff's deputies hearing all
of the shots have picked off Culligan's remaining
thugs.
Wyler tracks Clarence down and the tall man
appears on the street, Wyler calling for Culligan
to drop the weapon. But insane Clarence makes a run
as both men come at each other, Wyler's forty-four
magnum making fast work of Clarence arm and
leg.
On the ground, Clarence tells Wyler he'll be
back and when he does he will get all of them.
Wyler realizing this has to stop one way or the
other takes his badge off and chooses the other,
blasting a hole through Clarence head just as
Deputy Wayne Steep and the other deputies
arrive.
Wyler tosses Wayne his badge and explains that
Clarence was resisting arrest, case closed.
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