In the searing heat of Guatemala, Dr Temperance Brennan excavates the remains of an infant from a site believed to contain the bodies of twenty-three women and children. Shaken by the discovery, Tempe tries to harden herself against these horrors. 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 her path is blocked at every turn. It is clear that some people would prefer that Guatemala's 'disappeared' stay buried. And others will stop at nothing to ensure the missing girls are kept the same way.