It's 1998. Wildfires are sweeping through North Florida, burning even the peat in the drought-stricken swamps. Sheriff Jim Sheppard has his deputies covering the county, watching for fires, and trying to limit the threats to residents. When a Pentecostal preacher disappears during the night from his home, Jim takes the case himself to prevent stretching his department any further.

Dr. Ryan Edwards, formerly a well-respected physician in the George Washington University Hospital's emergency room, has been hired by the only doctor in Eden County. Suffering from aphasia from an attack in a parking garage in Washington, D.C., he's no longer able to be an ER physician, but he is able to provide medical care in a rural practice, where his skills are valuable, and his halting speech is not an issue.

Jim and Ryan continue to work as the fires burn closer, but dangers neither expected threaten them both.