Crimebusters Leaphorn and Chee are back together on a case, and at odds with the FBI over a backcountry manhunt in this latest addition to Tony Hillerman's international bestselling series.
Three men stage a predawn raid on one of the Ute tribe's gambling casinos. They kill one policeman, wound another, and disappear into the maze of canyons on the state border. The FBI take over the investigation from the local police, and become convinced that the wounded deputy sheriff is the key suspect. This brings Chee and Leaphorn onto the scene and they - finding a remarkable parallel between the crime and the exploits of a legendary Ute bandit hero - are convinced that they have discovered a fatal flaw in the FBI theory.