In the searing heat of Guatemala, Dr Temperance Brennan must harden herself against the horrors she excavates. And then four young girls go missing from Guatemala City. When a skeleton is found at the back of a rundown hotel, only someone with Tempe's expertise can deduce the identity and cause of death. But as she searches for answers, her path is blocked at every turn. It is clear that some people will stop at nothing to keep Guatemala's secrets buried.Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan is asked by the Guatemalan police to use her expertise to help in the case of four privileged young women who have vanished from Guatemala City in recent months, one of whom is the Canadian ambassador's daughter. When some remains turn up in a septic tank, Tempe teams up with Special Crimes Investigator Bartolomé Galiano and Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, and they soon find themselves in a dangerous web that stretches far beyond Guatemala's borders.