When Lalie Cortland married Don Rafael and moved to the remote trading post in Navajo territory, she knew their union was not passionate. She knew he still dreamt of the beautiful Catalina, who had perished mysteriously in the desert. For a while it seemed that her care for his young daughter, Carmen, would be enough. But then she began to be overwhelmed by the dead woman's spirit, by her husband's implacable coldness, and by the indomitable will of a not-yet-defeated people. Then, when the child disappeared, she was struck with terror. Did the demons of the desert really exist? Could Lalie survive in this strange and hostile world?