Five years after the fact, the homecoming queen's murder still reverberates through Parker County, showing the class divide in the Appalachian community. Five years later, the man who confessed to the murder now says he didn't do it, and he's asking Henry Malone to prove it. With his well-armed A.A. sponsor Woody at his side, Henry plunges deep into a family's past. Along the way, Henry and Woody find themselves caught between drugs, money, corrupt business deals, and the family secrets someone's willing to murder to keep hidden.