Mount Everest during a narrow spring summit window. The expedition begins in ordinary commercial-climbing friction: weather forecasts disagree, oxygen cylinders are short, and clients distrust one another. Then expedition auditor Elias Ward dies in what looks like a regulator accident. The mountain is physically real and indifferent. Altitude impairs judgment, rescue consumes the same oxygen needed to survive, and a forecast storm closes choices faster than the group can debate them. By the time sabotage is undeniable, the Icefall has shifted below and the team is committed above Camp II.