Chronically shorthanded police departments across the state must turn to officers from the Lower 48 to fight a soaring crime rate. For the "newbies" it is a trial by fire as they learn first-hand that policing, like everything else, is different in Alaska. In a state where guns are carried as part of everyday life, officers often have to protect an entire town by themselves while enforcing laws many are unwilling to follow. They face numerous dangers found only in Alaska, not just from people who want to be free from the rules of society, but also from encounters with predatory animals roaming through town and sub-zero conditions that can be deadly and unrelenting.