In late summer of 1948, L.A. private detective Michael Garrett is hired to travel to El Paso, Texas, to represent his client at an auction. At stake is a jade statuette believed to be of great historical value but said to come with an Aztec curse four centuries old. Willis Canton Ordway fears the curse, but wants the statuette anyway. And he ends up on a hotel bed with his throat slit. Standing over the bloody body is a cool-looking blonde with hard eyes. Garrett wants to believe she is innocent, and yet he notes, "With blondes, you can't ever be sure."