In the fall of 1988, Clarence J. Moore and his wife Jean moved to the small community of Wayne, in Grant County, Ohio. The Moores, formerly from the Chicago suburbs, made the move to accommodate Jean’s new work responsibilities and for Clarence’s hope for a slower paced work environment. Clarence applied for and landed the job as captain of the Detective Bureau in the Grant County Sheriff’s Department. One of Detective Moore’s first cases is the apparent homicide of Rachael Miller, a fifteen-year-old Amish girl, who died on December 19, 1988.

As a lead investigator for the Chicago Police Department, Moore brings an abundance of experience to unravel this complicated and unusual homicide case. During the investigation, another criminal case unexpectedly intertwines with the death of the Amish girl.

One of the main challenges for Moore is to comprehend the differences between the Amish and the English, those who are not Amish. Moore is assisted in navigating his way through the unfamiliar culture of the local Amish community by his subordinate, Sergeant Randy T. Chilcott, a resident of Grant County, Ohio. One of the first lessons Captain Moore learns about the Amish is that they believe in a two-world existence, in which one world is that of man, but the more important world is that of God through the examples written in the King James Bible and in the Ten Commandments.