Another very standard Reacher novel. Stranded in Bolton South Dakota, Reacher stumbles into a case against a biker gang that's been manufacturing meth in an abandoned military facility west of town. A witness has stepped forward willing to testify to seeing a biker hand over a brick of meth. The town has to keep her safe until the trial.

The complicating factor is that, like many rural towns in the western US, Bolton bid for and won the site of a massive prison complex. And if the prison has a riot or an escape, every single member of the Bolton police department is to drop whatever they are doing and assist the prison. Even if what they are doing is protecting a witness under threat. The cops can't protect her, but Reacher can. Or should be able to. Can he keep her alive the approximately 61 hours until she needs to testify? In the dead of winter when it's 0 degrees outside? He'll do a better job than the local PD at least, because the biker's lawyer turns up dead and then a local cop does too. The cops can't protect everyone, especially if the prison siren goes off.

Child takes a lot of liberties with a fairly shitty but anodyne prison-industrial complex situation. Everything is turned up to 11 and the super-competent Reacher has to deal with obviously absurd situations.

But that's what Reacher does.