The publisher of the Hermano Weekly News is pursuing a story that nobody in the little California Delta town wants him to write. Big city developers have come to town with grand plans for a swank marina retirement village on a nearby Delta island, and finally the future of Hermano looks prosperous. Only veteran newspaperman John Rock is asking critical questions about the deal. But local farmers and merchants are accustomed to having things their own way, and they know how to stop him -- or think they do. The danger and violence of the struggle surprises everyone. Who knew it would turn to murder?