What could make a man return to a hometown where he had suffered so much boyhood disappointment and unfair treatment? When Highway Patrol sergeant Dave Glosson sees one gruesome fatal accident too many, he decides to return to that boyhood home to face down the ghosts of his past and start over. The last thing he expects is to find there, while rebuilding a life of calm, bachelor contentment is the love of his life.

Erin Winstead a young woman of incredible beauty, roams the town like a wild and canny animal, fleecing tourists, begging food, and eliciting reactions from the townspeople ranging from pity, amusement, tolerance, and sometimes disgust. She is the town's joke; an oddity they simply ignore, mostly looking the other way. But is Erin at worst insane or at best severely retarded. In time, Dave discovers she is neither. Can she be rehabilitated and lead a normal life?

Will Dave's love for Erin lead to romance, marriage, and consummate happiness, or facing execution on death row— or both?