Falls City, Nebraska. Just a scratch on the Great Plains. To Billy tree, it's home—the last refuge for the ex-Secret Service agent scarred in body and soul by an unforgettable tragedy. But he's trading one for another. For the quiet burg of his youth has changed over the year. darkness has taken hold. And now, the killing secrets and terrible lies buried beneath the tranquil surface of Falls City are ready to erupt. Where it begins is with a shocking sniper attack at the local high school. No motive. No clues. Just two innocent teachers left dead, and a third injured. A woman with secrets of her own, she shares a place in Billy's heart, his past, and his fears, when a second murder paralyzes the town. Urged by the sheriff to help the investigation, Billy can't refuse. Even if it means seeing old friends in a terrifying new light, and exposing himself to the insidious rage of mysterious killer... It all ends in the shattering silence of an isolated silo. Here blood will tell. The secrets of Falls City will unfold. And the truth could cost Billy more than he'd ever imagined...

It's the hottest summer ever in Falls City, Nebraska. Acting deputy Billy Tree is struggling to readjust to his old hometown as well as recover from the shattering tragedy that ended his Secret Service career. But amid the shimmering heat, deserted barns, and burning plains, a horrifying, decades-old injustice is about to rear its ugly head when a stranger with a vendetta arrives, hell-bent on making Falls City pay for its sins... It all begins for Billy when sinister miniature nooses arrive in his mail. And it soon escalates when deadly shots ring out in the night. Hot on the trail of a relentless killer, Billy discovers a viper's nest of secrets and lies that turns everything he thought he knew about his own family and the woman he loves into terrifying doubt-and renews the deep hatred that still festers beneath Falls City's rural peace...