A full week after death, a barely recognisable body is discovered in a closet. 'Death by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head' is the initial assessment, but the victim's relatives are adamant that this was not suicide.

Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition, and Dr Temperance Brennan's forensic expertise is required. Even for her, it is virtually impossible to determine the trajectory of the bullet.

But just as Tempe is attempting to make sense of the evidence, an unknown man slips her a photograph of a skeleton. Could this hold the answer to the victim s death?