Guatemala, in the searing heat. The bones of a child no more than two years old are uncovered when mass graves are excavated. Twenty-three women and children are said to lie where forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan is searching for remains, in what is one of the most heartbreaking cases of her career. Then four young girls go missing from Guatemala City...And when a skeleton is found in a septic tank at the back of a run down hotel, only someone with Tempe"s expertise can deduce who the victim was and how they died. But her path is blocked: it appears that some people would prefer that Guatemala"s "dsappeared" stayed buried. And others seem to want the missing girls kept the same way...