About the book: 1994 / Geologist Emily Hansen, working as a driller at the Tensleep sandstone deposit near Tiny Meeteetse, Wyoming, is very concerned about the seemingly accidental death of chief geologist Bill Kretzmer and the subsequent the murder of his protégé Willie Sewell, who had his own suspicions. Unexplainable things happen on drilling operations, and it's all controlled by the company's vulgarly obnoxious engineer Ed Meyer and his quiet sidekick Merle Johnson. Em investigates some disturbing minor incidents: horse hoof prints in strange places; a missing drill used as a door stop for her primitive trailer on site; tanker trucks driving without lights in the wee hours; papers that disappeared from Kretzmer's office in Denver. All this develops in such a way that it almost kills the stubbornly persistent heroine. Oil drilling operations and the gruff, gruff characters who do the work are given a stern treatment here, but with the same sweet touch that enriches Em's sharp character and adds subtle nuance to geologist Andrews' straightforward, accomplished first novel. All this develops in such a way that it almost kills the stubbornly persistent heroine. Oil drilling operations and the gruff, gruff characters who do the work are given a stern treatment here, but with the same sweet touch that enriches Em's sharp character and adds subtle nuance to geologist Sarah Andrews' unpretentious, accomplished first novel. When creating the cover, I was inspired by images proposed by an English-language publishing house.