Kevin Kerney is asked by his ex-partner--the one whose drinking got Kerney shot when they were on the Santa Fe police force--to help him find his missing son, Sammy Yazzi. Sammy has disappeared from the White Sands Missile base, and drawings he left behind indicate that he had been visiting the off-limits Indian Wells area. When they ride out to look for evidence, they discover Sammy`s body and the hidden booty of rare antiques that may have cost him his life.