The death of a Chinese man leads photographer Nellie Burns and sheriff Charlie Asteguigoiri to Vienna, a ghost town in the Stanley Basin in 1920s Idaho. Sammy Ah Kee found the man's body and is accused of killing him. The mine entrance reveals secrets and another dead man. Rosy Kipling, now a deputy, Sammy, Moonie, and others help Nellie follow the complex trails and motives in this western landscape lurking with greed and evil.