An agnostic Catholic priest and an old woman believed to be a witch become key to FBI Agent Sara Carter and her Timorese police colleague, Vincintino Cordero, unraveling the truth behind an historic mass killing, a more recent murder, and the death of a traditional village leader who used superstition to mask his greed

FBI Agent Sara Carter is mourning the fact that her father was killed trying to stop the abduction of her half sister years before. It's the reason she became a police officer and the reason for her robust policing style. When that style becomes a problem for her resident agent in charge, she is forced to accept a secondment to Interpol in East Timor. There she is assigned to investigate the abduction of babies in the mountains along the country's southern border with Indonesia. Interpol has reason to believe an international racket is involved.