Thumps DreadfulWater is a Cherokee ex-cop trying to make a living as a photographer in the small town of Chinook, somewhere in the northwestern US. But he doen'st count on snapping shots of a dead body left behind in a newly completed luxury condo resort built by the local Indian band. It's a mystery that Thumps can't help but get involved in, especially when he realizes that the number-one suspect is Stick Merchant, anti-condo protester and wayward son of Claire Merchant, head of the tribal council and DreadfulWater's sometimes lover. Smart and savvy, with bone-dry humour, DreadfulWater just can't manage to shed his California cop skin. It's not long before he finds himself far down the rabbit hole - deeply entangled in a mystery, with his work cut our for him.