Old bones

"Nora Kelly, a young but successful curator at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, is approached by a historian, Clive Benton, with the opportunity to lead an expedition unlike any other. It begins with the story of the ill-fated Donner Party, who became permanently lodged in the American consciousness in the winter of 1847, when the first skeletonized survivors of the party stumbled out of the California mountains, replete with tales of courage, resourcefulness, bad luck, murder, and barbarism. Benton has discovered the long-lost diary of one of the camp's victims, an account which may break new ground in the truth of what happened in the wilderness all those years ago and point to an additional camp previously lost to history. Nora agrees to lead the expedition, and along with a team of talented explorers and archaeologists, Kelly and Benton venture into the Sierra Nevada in search of the camp. Soon, they learn that the discovery of the camp is just the tip of the iceberg. The truth behind those long-dead pioneers is far more complex and surprising than they could have imagined. And these centuries-old crimes may have modern-day repercussions that place the expedition in the sights of a junior, FBI agent, Corrie Swanson, about to embark on her first active case as lead investigator."--Page 4 of cover