When an archaeology student excavates the final layer of debris filling an ancient pueblo room, she dramatically and unexpectedly exposes a sacred kiva lying below. The sinister events that follow, including a murder, hurl the young Graciella into a vortex of dangers from both past and present. With the help of an Apache detective investigating the murder, she attempts to escape from haunting forces that seek to destroy her, while treading a serpentine path that crosses the line between myth and reality. This tale of a prehistoric pueblo and its living descendents confronts one of humankind's most ancient questions: can the past reach into the present and can the present influence what happened long ago? RONALD K. WETHERINGTON is professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas. He has conducted archaeological investigations in Egypt, Mexico, Guatemala, and New Mexico. His excavations in the Taos area form the basis for this novel. He is former director of the Fort Burgwin Research Center near Taos. He has extensive publications in both physical anthropology and archaeology, including "Ceran St. Vrain: American Frontier Entrepreneur" from Sunstone Press.