Grizzly Trade

"Sliding seamlessly between poignancy and laugh-out-loud fun, Grizzly Trade is a raucous romp through the Alaskan wilderness. Red just wants to be left alone, but when the taciturn Viet Nam vet starts to find dead bears in the forest with their paws hacked off, he is forced to wage war once more, and this time he intends to win. Tim Branson is a gregarious small-town reporter, looking for a news story that sizzles. Despite their differences, they are forced to become allies when a methamphetamine addict and an unemployed lumberjack start selling bear gallbladders and paws on the Asian aphrodisiac market. While trying to track down the poachers, Red and Branson discover toxic chemicals dumped on the pristine salmon fishing grounds. Accusations fly and the entire town takes sides. Tim's job and Red's sanity are at stake as they try to find the connection between the bear killings and the environmental disaster. As they follow the money trail, the unlikely duo must deal with an array of eccentric characters, including a lethal arsonist who enjoys bird watching, an aphrodisiac-gobbling cruise ship captain with a woman in every port, and an egotistic state trooper who couldn't pour warm piss out of a boot if the directions were written on the heel." -- Back cover.