The extraordinary new novel in the New York Times–bestselling author’s acclaimed series about the real Deep South—“a joy ride into the heart of darkness” (The Washington Post). She was just seventeen, a high school dropout named Milly Jones, found walking down the middle of the highway, engulfed in flames. Even in a tough Mississippi county like Tibbehah, it shatters the community, and it is up to Sheriff Quinn Colson, back on the job after a year away, and his deputy Lillie Virgil, to investigate what happened and why. Before long, however, accusations start to fly, national media and federal authorities descend, and what seemed like a senseless act of violence begins to appear like something even more disturbing—with more victims waiting in the shadows.