Sheriff Martin Holman of the Posadas County Sheriff's Department didn't like flying. Much less at night, with bad weather. So why he took a plane ride over a nearby mesa under those dangerous conditions is a question as disturbing as why somebody shot the pilot dead from the ground-causing the plane to crash. Undersheriff Bill Gastner, a 60 something warhorse, just months away from retirement, now has a murder on his hands. The only possible lead is a roll of film & with it, Gastner is determined to find out what the late Sheriff Holman was up to. Following his sharp instincts & a tencity born of long years as a cop, he uncovers a scheme of illegal doings & nasty buried secrets. Unfortunatley, it could make his biggest case his last.