Clint Jackson is living in a tiny apartment in San Francisco when, after waking from an alcoholic haze. He receives an unwelcome phone call from his brother John in St. Louis. John informs Clint that their baby sister, Melanie, has gone missing in Peru, that their father, with whom Clint has had a toxic relationship, has had a debilitating stroke, and that he needs to return home prior to leaving for South America to find out what happened to Melanie. Reluctantly, Clint agrees, soon finding himself forced to confront unforeseen challenges as he searches for his sister in the Andean region of Cajamarca in Peru. Stymied by American and Peruvian officials, he needs to overcome his own weaknesses, resentments, and self-loathing if he has any hope of solving the mystery of Melanie's disappearance. Caught up in a complex and shifting situation in a culture and landscape that is totally foreign to him, he struggles against overwhelming odds to overcome the many obstacles in his path to finding his sister but also to come to grips with his own destiny.
