In this newest Pendergast novel we learn that he was once married but lost his wife while on safari in Africa. Because he had a license to shoot big game he was required to assist in shooting a lion that had been terrorizing local villages. He and his wife set out with a tracker and gun bearer to find the lion who had killed a German photographer and in the ensuing encounter Pendergast’s wife was killed. Twelve years later while examining her rifle he discovered that one of the barrels was dirty and clogged with wadding. To him this indicated that the shell that was fired when the lion charged 12 years ago was a blank and the accident became a murder. The rest of the book covers Pendergast’s reconstruction of Helen’s life before the safari and before their marriage. He convinces his friend Lt. D’Agosta to take a leave of absence form the force to help him in his quest. D’Agosta’s friend Capt. Hayward also becomes involved in the hunt which revolves around Helen’s life and the life of James Audubon and one of his paintings. ‘Nough said, it was a good read on the kind that I hate to put down once I get started.