Max Gordon is participating in an X-Treme sports challenge, where he witnesses the final moments of a mysterious Basque monk, who screams a cryptic clue before plummeting to his death.

When he is blamed for the monk's death, Max and his best friend Sayid follow the clues and discover betrayal and murder around every turn before meeting the man behind it all: the insane billionaire Tishenko.

Kirkus Reviews called Ice Claw an "action-packed adventure" and found it to be "equally exciting" as its predecessor, The Devil's Breath.

[1] Publishers Weekly highlighted the "nonstop" pace and plotting that "combin[es] sports action and combat", as well as "mystical additions" that "never overwhelm the fight scenes".

They concluded, "Gilman writes a solid, occasionally thrilling action tale that manages to impart political, scientific, and geographic information without ever feeling like the dreaded 'message' book.