Gus is an over-fifty whose entire world is confined to the fields of his isolated farm in the hills of southern France, the woods nearby, and the village of Pont-de-Montvert, where he goes occasionally to do his shopping and sell his produce. He’s a loner and a man of few words. Apart from his beloved dog Mars, Gus’ only company is Abel, his neighbor and drinking companion of an evening, twenty years older than he is. One day while he’s out hunting with Mars, he hears shouts and gunshots coming from Abel’s farm, but when Gus gets there minutes later nothing is out of place, although Abel is gone without a trace. Except telltale drops of blood on the snow near the fence, that is. The next day, when he finally runs into his friend, safe and sound, Gus is surprised at his hostile attitude. Abel explains he’d shot his dog by mistake, taking it for a fox, and that’s all he has to say on the matter. Shortly thereafter, it’s Mars who turns up at the edge of the woods, horribly injured, it seems, by a larger animal. Yet more blood stains by the body and the keys to a Volkswagen nearby suggest there’s more to it. Then, while the entire country is mourning the death of Abbé Pierre, one of 20th-century France’s most charismatic figures, an odd group of preachers turns up at Gus’ door looking for one of their own who’s gone missing. That’s when all of Gus’ suspicions harden into certainties: something is definitely very wrong in the hills he holds so dear.
