As a child, Leonard "Lee" Skay weathered the psychological fallout of his mother's escape from a cult. Now entering middle age, he is a builder of hiking trails around Los Angeles County, though he hasn't been hired in a while. His marriage to Dawn, a professional screenwriter, is one of increasing friction. So when a wealthy colleague of Dawn's asks him about building a private trail in the canyon behind his Malibu home, Lee jumps at the opportunity—even with the mysterious, unsolved shootings in the region. 

While out working, he encounters Daniel Williams Janus, a strange, vibrant man who seems to have carved his own minimalist haven in the depths of the canyon. As Janus quietly helps Lee build the trail, the two form a unique bond, one unprecedented in Lee’s checkered social history. 

Then, as the shootings continue, and some odd coincidences pop up between Janus and others in his life, Lee finds himself slipping further into the shadows of a potentially deadly situation. 

A rich weaving of mystery, ecology and character study set against Los Angeles's one-of-a-kind urban wilderness, The Trailcutter examines the paths we forge not only in nature but also within, and among, ourselves.