A gun shot... an explosion... the roar of a small plane taking off shatters the centuries-old silence of the exotic Mato Grosso country deep in the heart of the Brazilian jungle and involves Captain José Maria Carvalho Santos Da Silva (of the Brazilian Police and Interpol) in his latest bizarre case. For in the charred rubble of the vitally important Agua Branca River bridge, destroyed in the explosion, the police find bits and pieces of a man’s body.

While medical experts study the grisly remains for clues. Da Silva’s old friend, Wilson, Security Officer at the American Embassy in Rio, comes up with a case of his own, one that is far more enticing. Her name: Jill Howard. Reason for entering Brazil: tourist — and to search for her brother, a geologist missing in the trackless jungle. When the medical institute reports that clothing found at the bridge site reveals traces of radiation, Da Silva is convinced that Jill's missing brother is involved; that the answers to what really happened at the Agua Branca River lay buried in the jungle where a murderer had struck once - and was capable of striking again to prevent the discovery of a secret of international importance