Victoria Barrón was born in Mexico but was orphaned when she was 8 years old. Her paternal uncle, Elias, and his wife, Marta, adopted her and raised her in El Paso, Texas. Now, she’s an immigration attorney in that city with her own law firm called the Center for Help. In her office, she finds an envelope postmarked as coming from Zacatecas, Mexico; inside is a mysterious letter from a woman named Clarita Dávila, who claims that Victoria has a relative in Zacatecas whom the lawyer needs to see. Victoria soon travels to the small town, where a stranger named Eduardo Duarte meets her; he takes her to the Casa del Conquistador, where she’s introduced to the frail, elderly Doña Antonella Duarte—her maternal grandmother, whom she’s never met. She adopted Victoria’s mother, Estima, when she was small. Eduardo is also Antonella’s grandchild—the son of her oldest son—making him Victoria’s cousin. As the tale unwinds, the attorney learns that her grandmother has many secrets. Meanwhile, a group of Aztec descendants seeks to reclaim Aztec relics in the hands of collectors. One of these men is Martín Eztli, who’s subject to visions and capable of great violence. His hunt for the missing center discs of the Itztia Shield will lead him to Antonella. Hulen’s complex, mystical mystery offers multiple twists and turns as Antonella is kidnapped, Eduardo is infused with the spirit of a conquistador, and Victoria starts hearing the disembodied voice of her deceased mother. The revelation of a secret passageway beneath the Casa del Conquistador, and the appearance of an abundance of pivotal secondary characters, will keep readers on their toes, and graphically violent episodes add a bit of horror to the adventure. There’s also the charming, developing relationship between Eduardo and Victoria; while the story explores ancient grievances and contemporary avarice, the pair’s romantic possibilities offer intriguing pieces of Mesoamerican and conquistador history and culture.