Set largely in Alberta, Brad Steel's MUTE follows Katherine "Kat" Francis, a veterinarian whose life unravels after a series of deaths, including the end of her six-year marriage. When a mysterious package of photos showing mutilated cattle arrives at her clinic, she is drawn into a conspiracy linking the Mad Cow crisis to a shadowy geopolitical plot.
The novel moves between rural Alberta and Europe, weaving together cattle ranching, veterinary science, and political intrigue. Steel, who has Alberta roots, captures the province's landscape and agricultural anxieties with an insider's eye.