Gray After Dark (2024) is a psychological thriller by Noelle W. Ihli. It follows Miley, a biathlete whose Olympic aspirations are derailed by a tragic accident. As part of her rehabilitation process, Miley takes a job at a remote resort in the Frank Church Wilderness. However, she is kidnapped by survivalists who consider themselves the last true mountain men. The novel traces Miley’s desperate fight for survival in the unforgiving wilderness and her attempts to outwit her brutal captors.

Noelle W. Ihli has gained recognition for novels that foreground strong and resourceful female characters, such as the 2022 thriller Ask for Andrea. Her survival thrillers, including the bestseller Run on Red, often feature women in perilous, life-or-death situations. Ihli’s novels explore human resilience and the desire to survive against overwhelming odds.

This guide refers to the 2024 Dynamite Books e-book edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide reference gun violence, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, animal torture, forced confinement, and pregnancy loss.

Plot Summary

Miley Petrowski is a biathlete preparing for the Olympics. She takes a seasonal job at the Hidden Springs Resort in Ohio so she can train in the vast Frank Church Wilderness that borders the resort. During her runs, Miley works on pacing herself and controlling her breathing. In her previous Olympic performance, her hopes of winning a medal were dashed when she rushed a rifle shot, thereby missing the target and incurring a penalty lap.

Miley has experienced phantom shoulder pain ever since her mother died in a car accident. Miley blames herself for the crash as she was driving the car and became distracted while romantically fantasizing about her friend and biathlon teammate Brent. Brent has declared he loves Miley, but she feels unable to reciprocate, believing she does not deserve happiness.

Wes, a fellow staff member at Hidden Springs Resort, befriends Miley. She learns that four years earlier, a young woman named Rayna disappeared when she was out running. When the police discovered Rayna’s shredded, bloody clothing, they assumed she was killed by a bear. Wes cautions Miley about the dangers of running too far from the resort and asks her to carry pepper spray to protect herself in case of a bear attack.

One day, Miley is out on a run and stops to swim in an isolated alpine lake. Two men—Fred and Hamish, father and son survivalists—surprise her and order her out of the water. Miley attempts to escape, but Fred, the father, slashes her arm and then bloodies and shreds her clothing, leaving it behind to be found by the rescue squads. Hamish plans to make Miley his wife and gives her a new name, Ruthie Sue. Chaining her around the waist, he pulls her deeper into the forest. Miley periodically pulls out strands of her long blonde hair, hoping someone will see them and follow the trail. Her feet become sore and infected from walking barefoot.

After Miley is reported missing, Brent arrives to join the search party. When Miley’s blood-drenched clothes are found, the police assume a bear killed her, and the search is called off. However, Brent and Wes agree they will keep looking for Miley. Wes finds tracks indicating she may have been abducted. They head into the forest in pursuit, and Wes leaves strips of his yellow t-shirt to mark their route.

After walking for days, Fred, Hamish, and Miley reach a cabin. Fred’s “wife,” Mary, greets them. She wears a pioneer-style dress and has only one eye. The men shackle Miley to the living room wall, revealing she will stay there until she is “tame” enough for Hamish to marry.

When Fred and Hamish leave on a hunting trip for several days, Miley anticipates escaping with Mary. However, Mary enforces Fred and Hamish’s rules while claiming to be happy with them. Miley realizes that Mary is the missing young woman, Rayna. When confronted with this information, Mary insists that Rayna is dead. Mary reveals that she and Miley are integral to Fred and Hamish establishing a new society. She longs for a baby but has had 13 miscarriages.

Miley pretends to be tamed and asks to help around the cabin. Fred chains Miley to Mary by the wrist and ankle, instructing them to perform chores together. Mary reveals that she was just like Miley when she first arrived and escaped at the first opportunity. However, Fred caught her and cut out her eye.

After Mary receives a brutal beating from Fred, she agrees to run away with Miley. When Fred and Hamish come after them, Mary freezes and gives away their location, claiming that Miley forced her to escape. Following repeated punishment beatings, Miley loses the will to live. She refuses to eat until Hamish threatens to end her misery by cutting her throat. Miley then adopts a subservient manner and decides to play the long game, determined not to rush another escape opportunity. Hamish marries her, and Miley endures the wedding night by recalling happy memories of her mother that she has suppressed since the accident. She dreams that she and Brent are married, have a baby daughter together, and receive medals at the Olympics. Miley realizes she loves Brent and will do anything to secure the happy future she envisioned. She recognizes that her mother would not blame her for the accident, and her phantom shoulder pain disappears.

Fred attempts to sexually assault Miley when no one else is around. Hamish catches him, and the men argue. Meanwhile, Miley and Mary search for a chicken that has gone missing, and they come across Brent and Wes camping in a clearing. Miley’s joyful reunion is interrupted by Hamish, who fatally shoots Wes. Meanwhile, Brent is critically wounded by a bullet that punctures his lung. Miley sees that Brent is still alive but covers him with a blanket, claiming he is dead. She fakes gratitude to Hamish for protecting her and convinces him to go back for Fred.

Shocked by Hamish’s killing of Wes, Mary declares that she really is Rayna and wants to return to civilization. Miley goes back to the cabin with Brent’s biathlon rifle, planning to kill Fred and Hamish. Waiting for the right moment, she fatally shoots Fred. However, Hamish escapes, returning fire and heading toward the clearing where Brent lies. Rayna—formerly Mary— intercepts Hamish and incapacitates him with Wes’s bear spray, allowing Miley to shoot him dead.

While Rayna cares for Brent, Miley runs through the night, following Wes’s trail of t-shirt strips, until she reaches the Hidden Springs Resort. Calling emergency services, she guides a helicopter pilot to Brent.

In the aftermath of her ordeal, Miley ignores the media’s glorified depiction of Fred and Hamish as intrepid survivalists. Four years later, she and Brent are married and have a baby daughter. As they accept their silver medals at the Olympics, Rayna celebrates with them.