In a house under renovation a plumber uncovers a cellar no one knew about and makes a rather grisly discovery — a decapitated chicken animal bones and cauldrons containing beads feathers and other relics of religious ceremonies. In the center of the shrine is the skull of a teenage girl. Meanwhile on a nearby lakeshore the headless body of a teenage boy is found by a man walking his dog. Led by a preacher turned politician citizen vigilantes blame devil worshippers and Wiccans and begin a witch hunt intent on seeking revenge. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan — “five-five feisty and forty-plus” — is called in to investigate and a complex and gripping tale unfolds in this deadly mix of voodoo Santería and devil worship.
