Six months ago, museum curator Deborah Miller had never heard of Ek
Balam, an obscure Mayan archaeological site known for its carved
figures. Now here she is, having traded Atlanta's urban jungle for a
remote village in Mexico's Yucatan, tasked with overseeing Ek Balam's
excavation. But when a sudden rainstorm causes a partial collapse at the
site, an unexpected treasure is unearthed: a collection of rough-cut
rubies hidden from the world for hundreds of years--and very
out-of-place in the Yucatan. It is a find of immeasurable value, one
that Deborah vows to protect--and yet is powerless to prevent from being
stolen soon after its discovery. Determined to retrieve the stones, she
sets out to trace their complex history across four centuries and two
continents, from Mexico to northern England where the jewels once played
a harrowing role in the Lancashire witch trials of 1612. But Deborah is
not the only one searching for the stones; close on her heels are
archaeologists, occultists, and one very determined arms dealer, all of
whom will stop at nothing, not even murder, to claim the prize for
themselves.
