Chasing Sovereignty chronicles the adventures of Doctor Calvin James during Guatemala's catastrophic revolution of the early 1980s when the noted archeologist and reluctant hero journeys through steamy jungles and lofty highlands of this Central American country in search of the Great Jaguar Paw, the infamous Mayan leader of Marxist rebels attempting to overthrow Guatemala's right-wing dictatorship. Trapped between these two worlds, the American Calvin James must come to terms with military and political realities that test his courage, moral fiber and cultural sensitivities. Thrust into the lives of exotic Mayan Indians persecuted relentlessly by the Guatemalan army, and seeking redemption from his tortured past, Calvin James is pushed to the limits of endurance emotionally, spiritually and physically. It is only through the love of a young Mayan guerrilla fighter that he finds solace in the chaotic world of the Maya whose lives have been turned upside down by abject poverty, racial hatred and a war that sees no end.