Relocating from big city fame as an award winning reporter to a small town newspaper was a matter of life and death for Jesse Kilgore. And, 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 skills he honed as an investigative reporter to help the town of Redbud come to grips with a brutal murder that's fed animosities between the local timber operation and environmental activists. The future of a young Native American accused of the murder hangs in the balance. Redbud's colorful locals consider how the politically charged killing might threaten their cherished mountain lifestyle and traditions.