It's bitter cold in Oklahoma's Ouachita Wilderness when Detective Sam Chitto of the Choctaw Tribal Police takes on a thirty-five year old cold case involving a missing Vietnam vet and murdered couple. The discovery of a man's skull in the casket of the murdered woman, which her family had disinterred for further investigation, attracts the attention of the Vietnam veteran's mother. Believing the skull to be that of her son, she tasks Chitto with becoming a bone picker, returning his bones so his spirit can rest. Because bones survived flesh, Choctaw of old preserved the bones of their deceased, believing their essence dwelled within. Honored people, called Bone Pickers, retrieved the bones for the family.When his preliminary investigation reveals former suspects in the murder investigation have a shorter-than-average life span, Chitto goes looking for the reason. As he unravels the mystery, long-held secret that have kept county residents living in terror the past thirty-five years begin to tumble. Incidents in the Vietnam conflict and the long-term effects of warfare on the four veterans in the story add depth.Fulfilling his role as bone picker, Chitto returns the bones to the family. However, the killer is above the law. Or so it seems. A macabre twist at the end ensures that justice prevails.