Faye Longchamp is overjoyed to be paid to do archaeological work she would have done anyway—excavating a site that was once her family’s. That joy ends abruptly when intruders break into a dear friend’s house and leave him dead among the scattered remains of Faye’s artifacts. There seems to be no motive at all for the vicious crime…unless the thieves were aware of the fabulous emerald he had been holding minutes before his death. But the open wall safe is untouched, and choice artifacts are left in their cases. The only thing missing is Faye’s field notes.

Faye seeks out the story behind the mysterious emerald. How was her fieldwork connected to her friend’s death? The key to all her questions must be buried in the field notes now held by the killers. Now, it is only a matter of time before they come for Faye.