Richard Young, a clinical psychologist practicing in Taos, New Mexico, has a troubled past. His new client, Christopher Carson, bears an uncanny resemblance to the historical Kit Carson. Christopher’s obsession with the injustices perpetrated against Native Americans, heightened by specific details he provides of past injustices, begins to unnerve Richard, an immigrant.
Is this a rare case of an identity disorder, trauma caused by vicarious guilt, or is it something more mysterious and otherworldly? Becoming increasingly suspicious that Christopher is somehow using him, perhaps feigning mental illness to cover up a murder resembling an incident in Kit Carson’s life, Richard’s own life starts to unravel, and his character flaws become more evident. His ever-supportive and talented wife, Sharon, who is an artist, begins to question their relationship.
When Richard encounters Christopher’s daughter, he realizes he knows her under another name. She was deeply involved in the scandal that cost Richard his university job. It will be up to Sharon to resolve the conflicting tensions. The story is set against the harshly beautiful environs of the traditional lands of the Navajo people and the Taos Puebloans, and their vibrant cultures.