When a robbery goes horribly wrong in a small town on the Oklahoma plains, the end result is ultimately not one but two men dead. Gayla Early claims to know who did the first killing but now she's wanted for the second. Her supposed victim? The most powerful man in town, the same man she claims held her hostage for two years. Albert Raeder may be dead, but he wields power from the grave — thanks to the good-old-boys he left behind. His buddies are going to make sure someone pays for his untimely death. And Gayla looks good for taking the fall. Sheriff Tommy Maynard's job has always been more babysitter than crime-solver. He prefers it that way. Then the murder of the century happens on his watch, and the Viet Nam vet-turned-sheriff realizes he and a grumpy recluse are all that is keeping a fragile stranger from being railroaded right into prison.