Quinn Colson is unemployed--voted out of his position as sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi. He has offers in bigger and better places, but before he goes, Colson's got one more job to do--bring down county kingpin Johnny Stagg's criminal operations for good.

At least that's the plan. But in the middle of the long, hot summer, somebody smashes through the house of a wealthy mill owner, making off with a safe full of money and shooting a deputy. As Deputy Lillie Virgil hunts the criminals and draws Colson in, other people join the chase, too, but with a much more personal motive. For that safe contained more than just money--it held secrets. And as Colson well knows, some secrets can kill.