When Tribal Police Officer Bernadette Manuelito arrives to speak at an outdoor character-building program for at-risk teens, she discovers Annie, a camper, has just returned from a solo experience traumatized.

Annie stumbled upon something unspeakable while she was lost. And the beloved instructor who hiked in search of her is still missing.

The instructor’s disappearance mirrors a long-ago search in which Joe Leaphorn played a crucial role. Meanwhile, Jim Chee tackles what should have been an easy assignment—get an update on a Navajo man married to a Tesuque Pueblo woman and neglecting his mother. But instead, deadly confusion abounds.

Before they discover the truth, an unexpected blizzard, possible misuse of tribal funds, an angry Shiprock councilor, and the arrival of a new FBI agent complicate the investigation.