Winter has set in in Alaska and wildlife Trooper Jon Simeon patrols Alaska's newly frozen lakes when he hears a gunshot: someone has illegally killed two caribou. As the Trooper and the gunman walk in the middle of the frozen lake to get the dead animals, they know that a plunge into these thin waters can kill them both. Back in the streets, an intoxicated man is challenging troopers to a gun battle. Suspecting that he has a hostage, the Troopers surround his house but no one is home.