THE DEACON AFFAIR‪:‬

Dr. George Ames notices an unusual gold coin in a necklace worn by Dr. Nancy Alvarez. On closer examination, he identifies it as a rare, pre-Civil War California Territorial gold coin. Nancy tells the ever-curious George that it was a gift from her former graduate assistant at the University of New Mexico, Anita Two Crows.

 

George, aware of legends about lost Confederate gold buried in the Arizona desert, immediately thinks: "Where there's one coin, there may be more." His collector's instinct immediately kicks in, and he quickly surmises it might be part of a fabled hoard of lost Confederate gold.

 

Once again George enlists the aid of his friends who had been involved in The Volsung Project and No Loose Ends. The serendipitous discovery of an old diary and a 19th century bible found in an old trunk at the Alvarez ranch in Texas leads the cast of characters on a series of discoveries as the author spins an exciting and convoluted tale.