FBI consultant Tony Wagner is called to the White Mountains of Arizona where his tracking skills are needed. Someone has kidnapped a cabinet secretary's daughter, murdered her bodyguard, and disappeared into the rugged landscape. With 72 hours before the ransom drop, Agent Garret's team scours the sparsely populated region, encountering residents both cooperative and antagonistic. They begin to unravel an elaborate plot involving multiple conspirators. Meanwhile, Tony tries not to let memories of his own kidnapping distract him. The investigation takes them across east central Arizona, from Pinedale to St. Johns, Holbrook to Alpine, and beyond. In this, the 9th Tony Wagner mystery, the author brings her protagonist to Arizona's Colorado Plateau where she makes her home.