Tom Bridger, who is half Melungeon, left his small mountain community to escape the lingering prejudice against the mixed race group. Now, in the face of family tragedy, he has returned and taken on his father's job as a county sheriff's deputy. The bones of a Melungeon woman have surfaced and all evidence points to murder. The victim's poor family and the wealthy white family she married into scramble to protect their secrets from Tom's probing....

A woman veterinarian investigates her repressed memories of her father's death with encouragement from a male colleague and opposition from her mother.

"When a powerful development company sets its sights on Mason Country, Virginia, as the location for a sprawling resort for the rich, the locals begin taking sides. Many residents see the resort as economic salvation for the small Blue Ridge Mountains community, while others fear the county will become financially dependent on a predatory company. Few oppose the development more vocally than veterinarian Rachel Goddard. She sides with locals reluctant...