In a world in which Alaska, rather than Israel, has become the homeland for the Jews following World War II, Detective Meyer Landsman and his half-Tlingit partner Berko investigate the death of a heroin-addicted chess prodigy.

Protecting a river guide with ties to the art world, private information collector and reluctant bodyguard Zach Balfour realizes his charge is in more danger than previously known, a situation that pits them against the ruthless multi-million-dollar Western art circuit.