A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta over two thousand miles away in Boston. She has no idea why. But as events unfold with alarming speed Scarpetta begins to suspect the paleontologist's disappearance is connected to a series of crimes much closer to home: a gruesome murder inexplicable tortures & trace evidence from the last living creatures of the dinosaur age. When she turns to those around her Scarpetta finds that the danger & suspicion have penetrated even her closest circles. Her niece Lucy speaks in riddles. Her lead investigator Pete Marino & FBI husband Benton Wesley have secrets of their own. Feeling alone & betrayed Scarpetta is tempted by someone from her past as she tracks a killer both cunning & cruel.