"How many anthropologists usually die at your conferences?" This is the question Detective Roberto Salinas asks Dr. Claire Aguila after two mysterious deaths at a gathering of Maya scholars in Merida, Yucatán. When a souvenir vendor in a nearby town is murdered, the faculty members of the newly formed Keane College Mayanist Program find themselves under scrutiny from Mexican authorities and U.S. Customs agents. Professor Claire Aguila becomes a reluctant police collaborator as she confronts the possibility that someone close to her might be a murderer. Claire's knowledge of Mayan culture unites her with Detective Salinas in the investigation; however, a long-ago romance with the detective complicates things, forcing Claire's colleagues to question her loyalties.