"How many anthropologists usually die at your conferences?"

This is the question Detective Roberto Salinas asks Dr. Claire Aguila after two mysterious deaths at a gathering of Maya scholars in Merida, Yucatán. When a souvenir vendor in a nearby town is murdered, the faculty members of the newly formed Keane College Mayanist Program find themselves under scrutiny from Mexican authorities
and U.S. Customs...

"How many anthropologists usually die at your conferences?"

This is the question Detective Roberto Salinas asks Dr. Claire Aguila after two mysterious deaths at a gathering of Maya scholars in Merida, Yucatán. When a souvenir vendor in a nearby town is murdered, the faculty members of the newly formed Keane College Mayanist Program find themselves under scrutiny from Mexican authorities
and U.S. Customs agents.

Professor Claire Aguila becomes a reluctant police collaborator as she confronts the possibility that someone close to her might be a murderer. Claire's knowledge of Mayan culture unites her with Detective Salinas in the investigation; however, a long-ago romance with the detective complicates things, forcing Claire's colleagues to question her loyalties.