Less than two years after the Communist rise to power in Laos, the nervous government is sending the royal family into secret exile, banning festivals where large groups might revolt, and even ordering benevolent spirits to lend their spectral hands to the cause. But rest assured that Dr. Siri Paiboun, the nation's aged chief coroner and host body for an ancient spirit, will find a way to keep life interesting. In his second outing, the impish Siri faces three mysteries. First, the government asks him to identify a pair of badly burned corpses. Soon, a fearsome creature begins slaughtering the citizens of Vientiane. And then people start inexplicably hurtling to their deaths from a ministry building. In one of many farcical twists, the nation's police officers carry empty guns. So Siri; his friend, Inspector Phosy; able nurse Dtui; and an old comrade with a high party post must use their considerable wits--and an occasional supernatural assist--to crack the cases.