The author very competently reveals the inner workings, the spats and feuds that are part of the dog-eat-dog world of academia. Reputations at stake, jockeying for positions and even artifact sabotage all make up the rarefied atmosphere that Larry Krafter inhabits. The buildup to the discovery of the truth behind the skull and wrist bone, the tension mounting as Krafter finds to his horror that even his own university treats him like a pariah is excellent and carries the reader along in the desperate, panicked whirlwind of emotions that beset Krafter.