During the frigid Moon of Dead Leaves Falling
Billy Smoke had his final beer...and met his destiny.

Where Colorado's border pushes against New Mexico, autumn is short. Rancher and tribal investigator Charlie Moon has fat cattle and a prowling cougar that demand his attention. He doesn't have the time to investigate the assault that killed hard-drinking limo driver, Billy Smoke, and put his boss, a U.S. Senator, in a wheelchair. But Moon has an obligation to the People, the Southern Utes, to look into the murder of one of their own. The FBI couldn't solve the case. Now Moon can walk the same paths and get to the same place. Or he can listen to his acid-tongued Aunt Daisy, a tribal shaman as well as a thorn in Moon's side. She insists a distraught red-haired girl is looking for Charlie. It may be about Billy Smoke's murder. Or-since this involves Aunt Daisy-the girl may be looking for a justice of her own.

"Doss has reproduced the land of the Southern Colorado Utes with vivid affection."
-Dallas Morning News

"Doss could be accused of poaching in Tony Hillerman territory...but Doss mixes mysticism and murder with his own unmistakable touch."
-Orlando Sentinel