Retired Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn returns to put together the clues from his last unsolved case-- a mystery involving the disappearance of a priceless Navajo rug-- without the help of Jim Chee and Bernie Manuelito, who are on their honeymoon.
A Zuni boy dies in a bizarre ritual slaying, and his best friend, a Navajo youth, is missing. Navajo police lieutenant Joe Leaphorn tracks the suspect across New Mexico and Arizona.