Erstwhile artifacts blackmarketeer Faye Longchamp lands the job as chief archaeologist for a rural development project and heads to the hills of Alabama, her studly Cherokee assistant, Joe, in tow. She's looking forward to a legitimate dig, and hopes to uncover the mystery of the Sujosa, an ethnic group of mysterious origins known for their aquamarine eyes and unusual resistance to disease. But the murder of one of the project team leads to a different sort of investigation, and Faye finds herself using her professional and personal skills to discover the murderer, and the long-buried secret of the Sujosa as well.

Mary Anna Evans, winner of the 2004 Ben Franklin Award and the Patrick D. Smith Florida Fiction Award, started Faye's sleuthing career in Artifacts, a novel rich in the history, archaeology, and landscape of Faye's family and Florida's west coast.