In the small town of Arnica Springs, Montana, your whole world can be encompassed in a matter of miles, and life, death, and a circle of hope and despair can be experienced in the bond created between two damaged teenagers. In the novel, "Gravedigger", Blake McClendon's entire life is surrounded in death and decay, from the town he lives into his father's profession as a mortician. Blake dreams of finding a way out of his oppressive world and create a new identity for himself. On a cold autumn day Blake meets Annie McKinley, a girl damaged in a tragic accident, and the brief conversation changes both of their lives. As fall turns to winter, Blake and Annie begin to fall in love, a love that blooms under a cloud of impending doom. Blake and Annie grow closer, navigating their way through a minefield of personal damage and social pressures; but unknown to them, a greater threat hunts them than the decay of The Springs. Annie is being watched by her next-door neighbor, a serial killer waiting for the time to strike again. A battle for life and death is rushing toward them, unseen and monstrous, waiting for them both on an abandoned train track on the edge of town. Life, death, and sacrifice are woven together in this suspenseful story of love and survival.