Trading post owner Texana Jones is at the dedication of a restored chapel in a tiny town across the Rio Grande. But the arriving guests find the door locked; when it is forced open, they come upon the body of the Saint Maker, an itinerant woodcarver who made the statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe for the chapel. Standing over the body is a pit bull, covered with blood. It is obvious to Texana that there is more to the death of the revered old man than simply a fatal attack by a fierce dog, and her suspicions are heightened when she comes home to find her house broken into, and the RV of a tourist family staying in the trading post parking lot stolen. Clay, Texana's veterinarian husband, is on a ranch in Mexico, advising one of the country's most powerful men, a rancher and arms dealer, on culling his prize herd. When Texana joins him there, she is surprised to see that her host owns a large collection of the Saint Maker's work. Her suspicions lead her into investigating any possible connections between the rancher and the old man's murder - and into a series of events that spell peril for Texana and high suspense for readers.