Gina Gale has been obsessed with the long-lost Mevoyan culture for years. She's devoted her life to the study of their culture, their rituals, and the Ruby of Ages, a legendary jewel said to have mystic powers. Amidst the thrill of new ruins discovered in South America, new clues emerge about the Ruby's location, setting her off on a race with her rag-tag group of friends against her fame-hungry rival, Kaufman, and his hired team of experts. It seems that all her dreams are coming true when she finds herself in the gem's temple, but deadly traps throughout the underground cave system turn that dream into a nightmare. And mysterious disappearances make it clear that their expedition has been infiltrated by a shape-shifting monster she had thought extinct. One of her companions is a killer in disguise. This naive scholar is going to have to do whatever it takes to make it out alive.