Summary

In 1976, Jo Wright arrives home at her small cottage in West Mills, North Carolina after visiting her brother, Herschel, in New York City. Josephine has moved back to West Mills, where she was raised, in order to be with her fiancée, a man named Lymp Seymore. Upon arriving at her house, Jo runs into Nate, Lymp’s son, who informs her that three people—Marian, Marva, and Laz Harmon—have been shot in their home. Since the Harmons are Lymp’s half-siblings, the police have taken Lymp in for questioning.

Before Jo leaves to go and see Lymp, Nate warns her that Lymp has been seen around town bad-mouthing his brothers and sisters, and that many of the townspeople blame him for the death of the Harmons. He also tells her that he was with Lymp the night the murders took place...