Augustus Purce is a man who has hidden behind a construct for so long, he's no longer sure who he is. But events in his little village of Dunverton, Massachusetts soon make it impossible for him to hid any longer. The year is 1876, and in New England, everyone is looking forward to the coming Centennial celebrations. Everyone except Mary Whitegate's visiting cousins, whose forebears fled back to England during the early days of the Revolution.
Soon, her cousin's opinion doesn't matter any longer, as Charlotte Whitegate has had her head bashed in, and nobody saw who did it, even though there were two other people in the room.
Augustus falls in with Bill Wright, the town constable, in trying to solve an unpleasant puzzle before any other lives are lost - and Augustus realizes that he's been hiding from the wrong people.