Death on Illampu

Marc Lipatti operates a lucrative gold mine in the lush and beautiful Bolivian jungle, surrounded by orchids and exotic birds along the Beni River. But this tropical paradise is also home to the jaguar, the bushmaster, the fer-de-lance, and perhaps the most lethal predator of all: men who lust for wealth and power.

After one of Marc’s Indian workers is killed by a poisonous snake, he hires a Peruvian doctor to oversee his clinic. The doctor’s American wife, Val, is beautiful but unhappy in her marriage, and a romantic relationship soon develops between her and Marc. Things get even more complicated when politicians and the secret police in La Paz conspire to take over Marc’s extremely profitable mining operations—and Marc and Val’s lives are threatened by forces as deadly as the jaguar and the fer-de-lance.