Birds are dying. Wildfires in the Amazon are destroying their habitat and burning their chicks alive. Millions die annually colliding with office tower windows. Closer to home, Mattie investigates a mortality event where dozens of starlings fly into the pavement as if committing suicide. Even the Saunders Exotic Bird Sanctuary, where rescued parrots abandoned by their owners are rehabilitated and re-homed is no longer safe. A deadly virus has them dying in her hands. Mattie leans on Simon, her rock and refuge, but his commitment to First Nation's causes is threatening their relationship. Can you love someone whose cause excludes you because of your race? Someone who keeps his activities secret saying it's for your own protection? After spending weeks at remote protest sites, leaving unexpectedly to respond to crises wherever and whenever, and then working with Wendy Walters, the attractive, ambitious indigenous politician on her re-election campaign, Mattie's had just about enough. When Simon proposes a vacation on the Mexican Riviera, she sees it as an opportunity for her to recover and is hopeful it's an indication he's reconsidering his priorities. She didn't realize while on vacation he'd want to attend the Conference of Indigenous Peoples in Chiapas. Mattie's annoyed but decides to indulge her passion and do some tropical bird watching rather than attend a boring conference. But Simon's conference turns out to be anything but boring when a deadly firefight erupts between the Mexican Army trying to arrest suspected terrorists and revolutionary Zapatista's. Now Simon is missing and Mattie is determined to find him, but to do so she must first escape being kidnapped by corrupt Mexican police and prevent abduction by vicious cartel members. Bird Witch, the fourth book in The Mattie Saunders Series, combines romance and action with environmental themes for an entertaining and thoughtful exploration of contemporary culture.