The secrets of the dead inspire the deadly intent of the living on the banks of the Amazon... Deep in the Amazon jungle, a tribe holds the key to the truest form of dreaming-where the human spirit walks the petal-thin line between life and death. In an elaborate ceremony, the dreamer ingests a toxic brew, then submerges herself in an herbal bath that turns human skin a vivid shade of midnight-blue. And the experience changes the dreamer forever.... Archaeologist Annja Creed has a full crew in tow as her TV show, Chasing History's Monsters, prepares for an in-depth exploration of the rain forest's most guarded secrets-including a magical child and a slothlike beast with two mouths and a single eye. But an opportunity to tread off the beaten path proves too tempting to ignore, and Annja leads her crew into an uncharted world that's both alien and dangerous-a world that attracts the morally corrupt with promises of wealth and power. A world that will steal the one thing Annja needs to survive: herself.