Doing a good deed for a relative offers the perfect opportu nity for Sergeant Jim Chee and his wife, Officer Bernie Manuelito, to get away from the daily grind of police work. But two cases will call them back from their short vacation and separate them-one near Shiprock, and the other at iconic Monument Valley.

Chee follows a series of seemingly random and cryptic clues that lead to a missing woman, a cold-blooded thug, and a mysterious mound of dirt that could be a gravesite. Bernie has her hands full managing the fallout from a drug bust gone wrong, uncovering the origins of a fire, and looking into a solar energy development with long-ranging consequences for Navajo land. Under the guidance of retired lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, Bernie and Chee navigate unexpected obstacles and confront the greatest challenge yet to their skills, commitment, and courage.