Relocating from big-city fame to a small-town newspaper was a matter of life and death for award-winning journalist Jesse Kilgore, but although he left his dangerous past behind, he didn’t escape from serious crime. When a battered body is discovered in Jackass Creek, Jesse uses the skills he honed as an investigative reporter to help the town of Redbud come to grips with a brutal murder that feeds animosities between the local timber operation and environmental activists. Not only must Redbud’s colorful locals consider how the politically charged killing might threaten their cherished mountain lifestyle and traditions, but the future of a young Native American accused of the murder also hangs in the balance.