Claire's troubles begin because she helps a down-on-her-luck friend from college, Evelyn Martin, who asks to stay with Claire while deciding where to live and what to do following the loss of her job in Denver. A short time later Claire realises she's the victim of identity fraud and thinks Evelyn might be the perpetrator. Not long after, police find the decomposed body of Evelyn in a house she rented in a desirable Santa Fe neighbourhood. Also discovered are credit cards with Claire's name on them - along with credit cards and personal items stolen from three other women Claire and Evelyn knew at college. When a witness tells police about an argument she saw the evening of the murder, and the description fits Claire, suddenly all the twists of fate seem aligned against her. To establish her innocence, Claire draws on her expertise as a librarian at the University of New Mexico's Center for Southwest Research, contacts with rare book dealers, and her ability to see through pretence and guise - in herself and others. Readers will delight in Claire's detective work in what amounts to identity shell games.