Professor Jacob Caine is running an archaeological field school at the Wildcat site, nestled along Kingfisher Creek in southwestern Wisconsin. The village site includes a stone fish weir in the nearby creek, constructed by the Native American inhabitants 1,000 years ago. While mapping the weir, the students discover a Native American skull fragment that eroded out of the riverbank from an unknown site upstream. Before they can search for the new site, another skull is found in the weir-a modern skull, from a young female, with a bullet hole!

The local sheriff fails to appreciate the 'Jane Doe' skull as evidence of a cold-case crime, so Jake and Pam Hauser plan to investigate the origins of both skulls. The landowners are reluctant to help, as Jake and Pam encounter an undercurrent of distrust, greed, and fear in the rural community. Could one of them be responsible for Jane Doe's death?

Meanwhile, Jake's rival Clark Kelley is causing trouble with his Trowbridge Farm excavation, which he hopes to use to discredit Jake and damage his career. With time running short, can Jake and Pam find the missing site, identify Jane Doe, and bring a killer to justice?