Walters' novel is a thriller centred on Smithsonian researchers persecuted by Native American ghosts. Human ears, strung like beads on a cord; scalps with hair and ears still intact; infant bones in a medicine bundle; corpses, whole, in a cardboard box. These artefacts in an obscure corner of the Smithsonian cause Indian ghosts to haunt, torment, and murder researchers -- even as they themselves are tormented by the items in the museum's collection. Only the sacred rituals of Indian medicine men can make it safe to be around theses dangerous artefacts.