Shan Tao Yun was an investigator in Beijing when he finds himself in an isolated village where he finds a man who is being held for the murders of two other men. The man is a Navajo who has traveled to Tibet with his niece who hopes to prove that Tibetan people and the Navajo are ancient relatives. She is studying the old religious practices and symbols. Two of their companions are murdered and the niece is gone. The man, Hostene, is accused of murdering his companions.

Shan tries to discover who is murdering people, cutting off their hands and why. The victims seem to have only one thing in common - where they are killed. In the meantime Chodron, head of the village, is torturing Gendun, a holy man (lama) with whom Shan has been traveling. Mystery builds upon mystery providing little information or evidence of who the killer might be. He has a week to find the killer before Gendun and Lokesh are to be harshly interrogated so he sets off up the mountain hoping to solve the murders.

Pattison, who received an Edgar award for the first novel in this series, weaves a complex tangle of relationships and occurrences that keep the reader pushing through this novel. He explores the rape of Tibet by the Chinese, the religion of the country and the gentle beliefs of the and Navajo peoples. There is, indeed, belief that the two may be somehow connected in their long ago past. I so enjoyed this mystery with its depth, complexity and tangled story. I recommend it to those who enjoy exploring other cultures through fiction. The author includes a glossary of terms to help the reader as well as an explanation of the basis for his tale. Very good!

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