“The Oath” is a delve into human morality and how a town’s past sins can affect the citizens in their present.

The story starts with the death of Cliff Benson. His brother, Steve Benson, a wildlife biologist, came to the Hyde River and Hyde Valley area and attempted to find the cause for his death. The suspicion was that it was a bear attack. This was incorrect, so Steve decides that it was something else entirely and sets out to figure it out.

When people in the town start disappearing, Steve tries to find out what is happening while its residents are try to stop him because an oath they made to protect the community.

Steve learns about the horrific history of the town and how greed and secrets have controlled it since its founding. He attempts to find the monster, a dragon, who plagued their town.

The story is a delve into human morality and how even if you try and ignore your sins, they come back in another form. This message really comes into play near the end of the novel as everything in the town begins to break down, the citizens begin to fend for themselves by  rioting, stealing, and killing.

It is an interesting and compelling story, with a fair amount of action and mystery throughout.