Haunted by a murder he committed in the shadow of the State Capitol and depressed by the death of his best friend, Theodore O'Hara Clark, a prominent political columnist, abandons his career and runs, hoping to shake his demons and shred his depression.

He is succeeding until the unexpected death of his mentor forces him back to the scene of the crime. When he arrives he finds she has left him a fortune. But she has also set him the task of protecting her empire.

To do that, he'll have to be something he doesn't know how to be and doesn't want to be. And confront the demons he ran from. And, in the process, face up to a long ago love.

A town and a newspaper figure prominently in this story. The action ranges from moonlit meadows in the Bluegrass of Kentucky to fog shrouded San Francisco Bay, from the canyons of Manhattan to the mountains of Appalachia and the snake handling cults that still thrive there.