Sister Agatha is one of two extern nuns in the cloistered order at the Our Lady of Hope Monastery near the small desert town of Bernalillo, New Mexico. An investigative journalist before entering the monastery, now, as an extern it is Sister Agatha's role to be the link between her cloistered sisters and the outside world. It is the skills from both her past and current lives that she must bring to the task assigned to her by the Archbishop of her diocese. At a former monastery, closed and sold by the diocese and now operating as a hotel and business retreat, there are a series of mysterious goings on.
Several valuable pieces of southwestern folk art owned by the diocese and left on loan in the retreat have been stolen and replaced by replicas. After an art expert was called in to verify the remaining collection, he too disappeared without a trace. And then, there is the ghost - the restless spirit rumored to wander the halls of the resort.
At the request of the Archbishop, Sister Agatha's must now discreetly investigate the doings at the former monastery and make sure that an unwanted scandal is not about to engulf the diocese. But she soon learns that something even more sinister than a ghost is loose in the retreat and it is up to Sister Agatha to unravel the puzzle before the consequences turn deadly.