In a small town near the foot of the rugged Sugar Mountain, debt-ridden Miles Parnell hatches a simple plan to make money. Miles persuades girlfriend, Lauren, and brother, Liam, to help fake a disappearance in the wilderness. They'll make it look like
Liam murdered Miles because he was in love with Lauren, then when Miles returns they'll each have a story to sell; one about the brother who survived against all odds, and one about a loyal brother falsely accused of murder.

Miles goes into hiding on the icy mountain and the locals unite to rescue him. The weather turns bad and, the mountain, already home to bears and cougars, becomes even more treacherous. Soon the good people of Sugar Mountain are risking their lives for the sake of a hoax. However, Jim Huxley, the local cop, has always held Miles in disdain and is determined to prove the disappearance is fake. As he closes in on the truth, Liam scrambles to conceal the fraud. But in the process of keeping one secret, another is exposed that rocks him to the core.

And further complications threaten to derail the plan.

Liam really is in love with Lauren.

And Miles really does disappear.