Paul Mares, a teenager in a small town on Cape Cod, discovers a rusted iron stake with strange markings. It is found in an area known locally as 'Captain Kidd's Swamp." Years later, Mares, now chief of police for the same small town, is faced with a series of ritual murders-at least two of which have occurred in the same swamp. In both instances, the bodies were rigid like stone and the hearts had been cut out. In the search for the killer, Mares discovers a descendant of a long line of Mayan priests, together with his Indian servant. The search follows mysterious buried iron stakes and letters from the sixteenth century pirate, Captain Kidd, to a possible treasure. Mares, alone, seeks to find the killers in the jungles of the Yucatan. The story concludes in Captain Kidd's swamp as Mares fights for his life in the place where it all began.