Torie, the owner of a costume shop in Tucson, finds an ancient-looking Native American bowl under a costume rack, and becomes embroiled in a fraud scheme dealing in such artifacts. Others standing in the way of the crooks are killed. Torie knows when they learn she gave the bowl to the police, there's no reason to let her live. The police lieutenant who investigates offers little help toward her efforts as an amateur sleuth, but he's the only one she has to count on when the murderer tries to kill the witnesses to his crimes—including her.