In the smoldering aftermath of The Tow Yard, the small Oregon town of Bend tries to heal-its people clinging to normalcy, its streets scrubbed clean of ash. But when Maggie's Diner rises from the wreckage as the town's new heart, the darkness doesn't stay buried for long.
Linda, the diner's kindly owner, hides more than grief behind her easy smile. Beneath her floorboards lies the truth that made her burgers famous-and the nightmare that refuses to die. Because Casey Ward, the burned tow-truck driver everyone thought dead, isn't resting. He's crawling back from the flames, rebuilt by vengeance, determined to finish what the fire began.
As Sheriff Pike closes in, the town itself becomes a stage for the final reckoning-one that will leave only smoke, ruin, and the faint scent of gasoline in the cold mountain air.
Months later, far across the country in a quiet Indiana town, a scarred mechanic works nights under another name. He's polite. Quiet. Careful. But when the wind shifts and the snow carries the smell of burning oil, you might swear you can still hear him whisper:
"Still breathing."