From publisher blurb: The hardy people who dwell in the long shadows of the world's tallest peaks struggle constantly against the land and the elements, and are not easily frightened. The stories they tell their children are practical, cautionary tales meant to teach the fragility of existence in the harsh mountain environment. But one legend gives even the most stalwart mountain people pause--that of the Alpingast, an ancient terror said to lurk beyond the furthest reaches of humankind.