Mary Crow is prosecuting a pedophile case in Atlanta when she gets a frantic call from Ruth Moon, pleading for her help. Mary's goddaughter Lily Walkingstick has been abducted from a Native American protest in the East Tennessee mountains. Over the strenuous objections of Mary's new, dictatorial boss, she heads to Tennessee, hoping the whole thing is a huge misunderstanding.
Sadly, Ruth has not called her out on a wild goose chase-Lily was abducted from a PowWow by a Navaho named Joe Little Bear. The local sheriff does a by-the-book search for Lily, though he suspects that the child has been taken by her father, Jonathan Walkingstick, who is currently estranged from his wife. Mary doubts Jonathan would do such a thing, and her doubts are confirmed when strange pictures of Lily start appearing on her cell phone. No ransom demands or political statements appear; just pictures of a squalling baby lying in front of a tombstone.
Gabe Benge, an archeologist who attended the rally, recognizes the first picture. Lily's miles away, lying in front of a famous Cherokee grave. He and Mary race to the site, but find it empty. But suddenly another picture arrives on Mary's phone. Again, it's a place that Gabe recognizes. "Someone's taking Lily along the Trail of Tears," he tells Mary.
While Jonathan reunites with the emotionally fragile Ruth, Mary and Gabe follow Lily's trail of photos west, into Nashville, finally to the little town of Franklin. As they do, Mary wonders if this kidnapping isn't about Lily at all, but about her. Could Stump Logan, her oldest enemy and a man the FBI claims is dead, be setting a trap for her? Weaving a web of trickery that will settle a decades-old score? Soon is is up to Mary alone, to find the devil that has destroyed the people she loves, and finally call him by his oldest name.
