Moon hollow

for most of the year, beth and nan moon are the only human inhabitants of the miles-long, deep, rugged hollow that bears their family name. after the death of their mother and the disappearance of their alcoholic father, the sisters have continued to live, surrounded by national forest, on the homestead that has been in the family since moon hollow was first settled in the early 1830s. during hunting season a few dedicated hunters, in pursuit of deer, venture into the depths of the hollow where only the noonday sun penetrates the shadows. late in the fall of a drought-plagued year, as the remnants of a hurricane approach the southern appalachians, dan smith, an obsessive hunter, leaves his wife and daughter sleeping in the predawn darkness and descends into moon hollow for what will be his last hunt. a month later, on the last night of his life, an elderly fox hunter settles in by his fire in the same creek bottom to sip whiskey and listen to his hounds run. the following year, on the very day that dan disappeared, both men are seen standing on main street, but neither will ever live there again. the residents of the small alabama town are horrified when they discover the unimaginable fate shared by the two seemingly unrelated men. .