Gideon Fletcher— a good soul with a penchant for trouble. Not exactly verbose, he's a journalist's nightmare to interview, but one still hauled himself out to the remote town of Caswell Crossing to give it a try. Aspen Rivers, his court-appointed external conscience and all around nudge, can't wait to see how the article turned out. That is, he is responsible for guarding Gideon, not the newspaperman. The journalist might have been grateful for the back-up. Gideon usually isn't.