16th Century Mexico: The shaman Red Snail flees the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza with the last remaining Maya books. He hides them in a cave in the southern Lacandon jungle, then carves a stelae recording the deed. He is captured, tortured, and dies without revealing their location. Five hundred years later archaeologist Karen Dumas deciphers the stelae at the Smithsonian Institute. She travels to San Cristobal de las Casas to meet David Wolf. They began a thrilling, suspenseful journey of deception, intrigue, and romance in a country dominated by drug trafficking, political corruption, and war with the Zapatista guerillas.