Jacqueline Le Saunier

High in the Mountains on a secluded farm a widowed mother dies leaving her two children alone and orphaned. Fearing being taken away and split up they keep their mother's death a secret and survive off the land with no one to rely on but each other. The sixteen year old sister is one with nature, innocent, and unaware of the evils that exist in mankind. Her ten year old brother is traumatized and mute from witnessing a disturbing incident years earlier (the death of his father) involving the town's Mayor. As the girl transitions into womanhood a harsh brutality destroys her innocence when savage hunters led by the Mayor's son attack and rape her. A social worker from a distant city arrives to investigate but ultimately it is the siblings who must come of age to protect each other and survive.