Jake Plumb is a drifter haunted by his past. Charles Chavez fears a future where his career as Terlingua's sheriff ends. The two meet and become an improbable police team. They investigate a rollover car accident with a fatality. When the accident's corpse turns to dust in minutes, the investigation turns bizarre. The investigation becomes a fight to survive when the Defense Department, Mexican cartels, and government agents try to kill the two. Someone does not want the connection between the dusty corpse and a coup in the world's economy to become known. The team's survival depends on three thin reeds: Chavez's knowledge of the wiles and dangers of the land about Terlingua, Jake's skill as an archer, and a German Shepherd named Idyll—long odds at best. The duo grabs at one possible answer after another. Each answer proves more deadly than the previous. With a national election approaching and time running out, there is a meeting in Terlingua. Connections are found, lies are discovered, secrets are revealed, and important people must choose between escape, confession, or death. It seems things may be settled, but has the right question been asked and answered?