On a remote outpost of the Navajo Nation in 1971, Lt. Joe Leaphorn of the Tribal Police and new Deputy Jim Chee are besieged by a series of seemingly unrelated crimes. Together, the two men face the trauma of their pasts as they search for clues.

Leaphorn and Chee interview the surviving witness to the Big Rock Motel cuddles. Chee meets with the coroner - the cause of passing remains a mystery. Meanwhile, Sgt. Manuelito makes a chilling discovery of her own.

Leaphorn's niece celebrates her Kinaaldá as Leaphorn retrieves the bodies of the cuddle victims. Meanwhile, Manuelito and Chee investigate the whereabouts of the missing Mormon family.

Leaphorn suspects all of the crimes on the reservation are related.There is a big break in the case. Leaphorn invites Chee over for dinner. Meanwhile, Manuelito makes a discovery of her own.

With a major suspect in custody, Leaphorn discovers that there is more to this crime than he would have ever imagined. Manuelito faces her worst fears. Chee must make a choice between his career and his people.

Leaphorn, Chee, and Manuelito descend on the hiding place of the Buffalo Society, only to be confronted with hard decisions that could change the outcome of the rest of their lives.