Valerie Tso has been murdered, apparently during a break-in, and Navajo Police Special Investigator Ella Clah is determined to find the killer?and fast.  Valerie is the estranged mother of Boots, who takes care of Ella?s daughter after school.  Ella owes Boots a quick resolution to the case. 

Unfortunately, things aren?t as simple as they seem.  A Bible verse on a scrap of paper left near the body reminds Ella of a string of murders of Navajo women she worked on in her FBI days.  The killer was never found.  Now he seems to be killing again, targeting the children of the women he murdered ten years ago. 

Ella discovers that the earlier victims?and Valerie?had been lovers of Caleb Frank, a successful Navajo businessman.  Once a member of Ella?s father?s congregation, Frank had believed that sinners had to be punished. 

Could Boots?born out of wedlock?be Caleb Frank?s next target?  Ella is an unmarried mother?is her own daughter in danger?