Rayton: A Backwoods Mystery

An affable outsider unsettles a small, respectable backwoods settlement, setting off rivalries, jealousies, and long-buried secrets. Men gather for furtive poker and private counsel while romantic tensions around a local woman drive a trapper to confess past shame and seek redemption. A skeptical doctor and other townsmen probe suspicious events, leading to confessions, surprising discoveries, and the gradual lifting of a lingering curse. The plot unfolds through investigations, misunderstandings, and confrontations that test personal honor and communal reputation, ultimately resolving tensions and examining how rumor, loyalty, and conscience shape life in an isolated community.