From Prosperity, Maine, deep in the dark hills of Waldo County, Jack McMorrow sets out to find the story. Star reporter in exile, McMorrow writes for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, a small-town weekly. And the news story is just the beginning.

A photographer drowns in a mill-town canal. A young mother is killed when she goes looking for her baby. A woman wants protection from her ex--and gets none. A marijuana grower is not what he seems. Someone has murdered the mayor of New York. A body is found in a shallow grave.

Where the news story leaves off, McMorrow is just beginning. With his friend Clair, ex-Marine philosopher, his partner Roxanne, McMorrow probes. He pushes. He's threatened. He's beaten. He's shot at. He doesn't relent until the truth is told. Welcome to his world.