Tony Hillerman takes the reader out of the Southwest and into the Far East. After his mother suffers a heart attack in the Los Angeles airport on her way to Manila, Moon Mathias is sent on a far ranging search for his late brother's daughter. Taking place during the last days of the Viet Nam War, Mathias travels from Manila, to the prison in Puerto Princesa, into the Mekong Delta, through Viet Nam as the Viet Cong are moving Southward and into the Killing Fields of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. This is not only an adventure tale, but also the story of forgiveness and acceptance.

It's a little tough to get started into this book. Although Hillerman is an expert at creating the personalities of the Navajo and Hopi Indians that inhabit the majority of his books, these characters lay a little flat and never seem to reach their full potential. Also, as masterfully as he creates the scenery of the stark desert, these lush landscapes leave the reader wanting more to aid in visualizing the countries where the characters travel.