Temperance Brennan is back in the Carolinas. A plane crashes killing the passengers and crew. Tempe assists in identifying the bodies until she finds a foot that can not be identified as a passenger. Suddenly Tempe is asked to leave the team and may even face charges.
Tempe's curiosity is not satisfied about the foot and even though she is not allowed on the plane crash site she manages with help from the local sheriff to continue digging into the mysterious unidentified foot.
Andrew Ryan, Tempe's frequent partner from Montreal, shows up to work the plane crash site because one of the victims is presumed to be his partner. It is believed the partner was accompanying a prisoner on the doomed flight.
Tempe continues to dig with help thorough records and local sites around the crash area uncovering a cannibalism, religous rites, wealthy investors and missing persons dating back many many years. How does it all relate to the crash and why are so many people trying to keep her away from the crash site?
I enjoy this book as I have many of Reichs books. The size of the consipiracy and duration of the canniablism seemed a little over the top for me but who knows, stranger things have happened. The journey from the beginning of a mystery through it's solution is always well laid out by Reich but always takes many turns giving the reader a bumpy but enjoyable ride.