There's a saying in Barstow, California, a decaying city in the scorching Mojave desert ... The Interstate here only goes in one direction: Away. But it's the only place where ex-LAPD detective Beth McDade, after a staggering fall from grace, could get another badge ... and a shot at redemption. Over a century ago, and just a few miles further into the bleak landscape, a desperate stranger ended up in Calico, a struggling mining town, also hoping for a second chance. His fate, all those years ago, and hers today are linked when Beth investigates an old skeleton dug up in a shallow, sandy grave ... and also tries to identity a vagrant run-over by a distracted motorhome driver during a lightning storm. Every disturbing clue she finds, every shocking discovery she makes, force Beth to confront her own troubled past ... and a past that's not her own ... until it all smashes together in a revelation that could change the world.