During a merciless Texas drought that drags on toward the fall equinox, the murdered body of a popular local Methodist minister's estranged wife is found dumped on the couple's front yard in the wee hours of the morning. But this turns out to be more than a simple murder case for longtime Sequoya County sheriff, Bo Handel.

Before the story winds its way to a conclusion, there will be two more murders and Sheriff Handel will find himself confronting a shadowy and eccentric Houston banker the FBI claims is the state's cocaine kingpin.