When bones are unearthed in a gemstone fossicking site near Gariwerd, Victoria’s Grampians mountains, DS Rory James is accompanied at the scene by young Indigenous archaeologist, Tahlia Lock. Although the bones turn out to be the non-archaeological remains of a missing Sydney woman, Tahlia sticks around in any case. She sees Rory as an “in” to have her brother Ricky’s woefully under-investigated disappearance re-examined. Rory agrees to give the file the once-over and soon learns that Ricky, who is also an archaeologist, had been on the historical trail of a yet-to-be-exposed colonial frontier massacre. The closer Rory and Tahlia get to uncovering Gariwerd’s long-buried secret, the closer they get to the murderer … and his undiminished malevolence. A suspenseful novel that is both surprising and satisfying.