Bob White is hoping to post a state record by sighting an elusive Gyrfalcon in Minnesota's Cottonwood County, but instead, finds himself flying to Flagstaff, Arizona, to help his sister track down her missing husband (aka Bob's best friend, Alan Thunderhawk). As soon as he lands in the high mountain country, though, Bob finds more than he bargained for, including a twenty-year-old unsolved murder and a boy who claims to be Alan's son. Sifting his way through deception, land disputes, family secrets, and even an earthquake, Bob must strike a balance between suspicion and trust while he negotiates the tricky landscape of unearthing buried truths. Along the way, his birding expertise affords him close encounters with Arizona birds and possible murderers, but in order to solve the mystery and bring everyone home to Minnesota, Bob must first do something he's never done before - not just find a killer, but figure out where the body is, too!