While Jim Chee and Bernadette Manuelito honeymoon in Hawaii, Mel Bork sends Leaphorn a page from a glossy magazine, showing the interior of a fine home. The main item on the wall is a tale-telling rug made in the 1860s of the long walk back from Bosque Redondo, which is called the Woven Sorrow Rug. Leaphorn saw that rare rug long ago in Totter’s Trading Post & Gallery, which burned down in 1965. Besides destroying the rug, that fire killed a man beyond recognition, who was identified by the FBI as Ray Shewnack, a man on their most-wanted list. Leaphorn calls Bork, learning from his wife that Mel has not been home for two days. There is a threatening message from a stranger that Mel never heard. Leaphorn begins to search for Mel. The rug would be nearly impossible to duplicate, raising the suspicion that the rug was not destroyed, as reported decades earlier. Leaphorn recalls how he was diverted from aiding Grandma Peshlakai, whose entire collection of pinyon sap for making baskets had been stolen from her, and her granddaughter saw the car driving away with it. Leaphorn’s boss had sent him to join the FBI at Totter’s place instead. She was very angry with him.
Leaphorn learns that Jason Delos owns the house shown in the magazine photo. Gossip links Delos to stories of CIA in Vietnam in the 1960s. Leaphorn calls Sgt. Garcia, who tells him the story of Ray Shewnack and his burglary of Handy’s gas station and grocery back in 1961. Shewnack told one plan to the employees (Ellie, Begay and Delonie), then carried it out differently, murdering the owners and setting up the employees to go to prison for abetting, while he drove away with the money. Begay is dead, apparently of suicide. Garcia tells this story as they drive to the remains of Totter’s place. They meet Delonie there, recently out of prison. Heading home, they stop at Grandma Peshlakai’s place, learning that she found her empty buckets at Totter’s place after the fire. A few years after the fire, she heard Totter had died, via a notice in a Gallup newspaper.