The New York Times bestselling author of Serena - the basis of the fall 2014 movie starring Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper - illuminates lives shaped by violence, passion, and a powerful connection to the land in this haunting tale set in contemporary Appalachia. Les, a long-time sheriff nearing retirement, contends with the ravages of poverty and crystal meth on his small Appalachian town. Nestled in a beautiful hollow, his is a tight-knit community rife with secrets and suspicious of outsiders. Becky, a park ranger, arrives in this remote patch of North Carolina hoping to ease the anguish of a harrowing past. Searching for tranquility amid the verdant stillness, she finds solace in poetry and the splendor of the land. A vicious crime will plunge both sheriff and ranger into deep and murky waters, forging an unexpected bond between them.
