Over five hundred years ago, there lived a thirteen-year-old Inca girl in the mountains of Peru. Because of her perfect beauty, she was chosen to be the official sacrifice to the god of Mount Ampato. Feasting began days before the actual ceremony and priests gave the girl elaborate costumes to wear. Then the time came for her to be given to the mountain.

Centuries have passed and it is 1990. Hiking on the snowy peak of Mount Ampato, an archaeologist and a mountain climber make an unusual find: charred wood and other signs of ancient human life buried in the frozen ground. Before long, they uncover the mummified body of a young girl, and a scientific inquiry begins.