Mildred Luna works as a ranger and tour guide in Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves a major center of early Native American culture. A hub of ceremony, trade, and government for the prehistoric Four Corners area, Chaco's monumental public and ceremonial buildings form an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture that is part of the sacred homeland of Pueblo, Hopi, and the Navajo Indian. It is against the backdrop of Chaco Canyon that Dr. Friedman-Bernal runs into trouble. (In the book, Mildred Luna is Bob Luna.)

Beth Grant is an accomplished actress who has appeared both on television and in films. Her big screen work includes Matchstick Men, The Rookie, Rock Star, Donnie Darko, A Thousand Acres, A Time to Kill, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. Safe, City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold, and Rain Man. On television, she has appeared on Everwood, Boomtown, King of the Hill, Malcolm in the Middle, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Yes, Dear, Judging Amy, The X Files, among many other programs. She also served as executive producer for the 2003 film Judge Koan, about a Buddhist judge presiding over a television court who faces his estranged teenage daughter, falling ratings for his television show, and a case that tests his sanity.