A skeleton in a makeshift stone grave is discovered on a remote bluff overlooking Labyrinth Canyon in southeast Utah. Cause of death: a bullet to the back of the head.

The victim turns out to be a controversial investigative journalist from New York City who moved to Moab a few years earlier for some peace and quiet. That's what he found, but only for a little while. He couldn't shut off his investigative instincts and began probing into a dangerous situation about which the town folk were totally unaware. He got too close to a well-kept secret and that eventually cost him his life.

Manny Rivera, a Grand County deputy sheriff, is assigned the case. Time is of the essence, as an unsolved murder in the backcountry will inevitably inhibit tourism, Moab's sole economic driver. To solve the case, he must unravel a series of four puzzling questions. In the end, he is torn by a moral dilemma, testing his commitment to the letter of the law.