On Haida Gwaii, Meg unravels a story of betrayal that reaches back more than a century. While visiting Vancouver, Meg Harris encounters the crime scene of a murdered Haida carver. She and her husband Eric are forced to confront Eric's painful past when the young victim's identity is discovered. The repercussions send them up the coast to the islands of Haida Gwaii, land of the Haida, in search of the murdered boy's family and his killer. As the search progresses, a totem pole carver sets out to depict the ancient tale of a long-ago chief's treasure and how it incited deception and shame. This tragedy reaches its nasty tentacles into the present where Meg and Eric find themselves embroiled in a modern-day story of betrayal.