Dr Temperance Brennan and her students are working on a site of prehistoric graves on an island near Charleston, South Carolina, when a decomposing body is uncovered in a shallow grave off a lonely beach.

The bones are fresh and the remains are still topped by wisps of hair – it’s a recent burial, and a case Tempe must take.

She determines that the deceased is a middle-aged white male – but who was he? And why was he buried in a clandestine grave?

Before long, another body is discovered – and Tempe finds herself drawn deeper into a shocking investigation which will challenge her entire view of humanity.