It's been six years since the last murder in the small southern town of Michaeltown, Kentucky, and in that time three sheriffs have come and gone. On a moonlit night, two men determined to carry out an evil plan slip into a dark farmhouse and change everything.

Rookie sheriff Zack Taylor's second night on the job is anything but routine. Two people are dead—gunned down in their bedroom in the middle of the night—and their little girl is the only witness to the crime. She is too traumatized to talk, however, and Sheriff Taylor's lack of experience becomes evident when he is unable to uncover a motive or a suspect. Just as FBI agent Tina Simpson arrives on the scene to assist with the investigation, she finds herself in a shootout with two masked men who attempt to finish their job by kidnapping the little girl. Feeling overwhelmed and wondering if he is even worthy of wearing a badge, Taylor has no idea that his worst nightmare is about to come true.

In this gripping murder mystery, a small- town sheriff is tested to his limits as he battles ghosts from his past and attempts to save a child from an unimaginable fate—before it is too late.