A small town in the hills of Southern Indiana is the hometown of Michael Johnson. Michael "MJ" Johnson is the town marshal who wants to simplify his life as he approaches the age of forty. He decides to leave law enforcement, and just weeks before his official retirement date, a murder takes his life down a complicated series of paths that eventually leads him to the life he didn't know he was looking for.

His best friend from high school, Barry Kaiser, who is now the mayor of West Baden and instrumental in getting him the marshal position, becomes the prime suspect in the murder. Complicating things even more is his present relationship with Barry's younger sister, Monica.

His town marshal replacement, Kathy, works closely with him during the investigation, resulting in the two of them becoming involved with each other, and through his relationship with her, he finds what was missing in his life. He then realizes that leaving the force was merely an exit from his present life and would still have left him empty.

He is retired from the force and now having what he believes to be a life he could never have. However, doubts about his conclusion to the murder haunted his serenity. He secretly began following up on a lead that hadn't occurred to him during the initial investigation. What he uncovers is far more than he bargained for, and the murder he thought he had put behind him now comes back to threaten not only his life but also the life of his wife and unborn child.

He discovers a world behind the murder he knew existed but finds inconceivable that it could exist in the small-town atmosphere he grew up in and believed he understood.