Three Armed Men raid the Ute tribe's gambling casino, kill a policeman, and disappear in the maze of canyons on the Utah-Arizona border. The FBI takes over the investigation, swarming in with helicopters and high-tech equipment. Making an explosive situation even hotter, these experts devise a theory of the crime that makes a wounded deputy sheriff a suspect -- a development that brings Tribal Police Sergeant Jim Chee and longtime colleague, retired Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn in to help.

As they try to balance politics, outsiders, and missing armed fugitives, Leaphorn and Chee soon find themselves caught in the most perplexing -- and deadly -- crime hunt of their lives....