Between metaphor and mind control lies an alluring purgatory. . .

At the close of the 19th century, Zachary Knox, a sharpshooter known as “the Bull’s-Eye Telepath,” heads north in search of gold. On his way, he meets Sephy, a magnetic woman on the trail of her brother, Raymond, who, in service to a strange calling, has disappeared.

But natural disaster and human trickery conspire to deliver them instead to a cult, a shadowy purgatory where hard labor, sustained by unwavering belief, promises an unearthly treasure. The mine boss, Trevillian, rules the camp like a despotic priest, and at the center of his faith is Hope, an elusive goddess for whom the miners toil, enduring increasingly perilous trials as they pursue her into the depths of the earth.

Zack determines to overthrow Trevillian, with cryptic guidance from Sephy—until Hope appears and reveals the astonishing future she has in mind for him . . .