by Alice Zogg

Jacob Barrstein and his friend, James Eaton, have a $1000 bet going. James claims that a group of 21st Century people cannot last a week without smartphones, computers, tablets, GPS’s, and the like, while Jacob aims to prove him wrong. They organize a camping trip with 12 people, heading to the Angeles National Forest Mountains, allowing no electronic devices. When they suffer severe hardship and are stranded on the mountain with no way out, Jacob goes for help on foot and never returns. Six months after his disappearance, hikers stumble onto his remains, and the case changes from a missing person’s file to a full-blown police investigation. Once events are brought to the surface, another member of the group is killed.