Thumps DreadfulWater is a Cherokee ex-cop trying to make a living as a photographer in the small town of Chinook, somewhere in the northwestern United States but he doesn't count on snapping shots of a body left behind a newly completed luxury condo resort built by the local Indian band. it's a mystery that Thumps can't help but get involved in, especially when he realizes that the number-one suspect is Stick Merchant, anti-condo protester and wayward son of Claire Merchant, head of the tribal council and DreadfulWater's sometimes lover. Smart and savvy, with bone-dry humour, DreadfulWater just can't manage to shed his California cop skin. It's not long before he finds himself far down the rabbit hole-deeply entangled in a mystery, with his work cut out for him. .

"First published by Harper Flamingo Canada in a hardcover edition as DreadfulWater shows up (by Hartley GoodWeather): 2002"--Title page verso.