A toxic bacteria, a gang of Mexican drug smugglers, an East European mob, a lethal assassin. Just another day on the job for Zack Tolliver, FBI. But how do you deal with the deadly curse of an ancient Chumash Chief?

After a month of mental and spiritual leave, Janice sends Zack on a simple mission to locate a cave containing an ancient earthen pot known only through the ravings of a delirious and dying man, somewhere in the Matilija Wilderness. To his mind, it is a task beneath his rank. And his partner Eagle Feather is taking a college course and is unavailable. But Zack dutifully travels to Ojai, California, locates a guide, and hikes into the wilderness to find the cave. What he doesn't know it is not just any cave, and not just any pot, for inside it lurks a strange and deadly disease.