A simmering feud between two powerful Southern families bursts into violence in the picturesque, seemingly tranquil city of Beaufort, South Carolina when a young Gullah boy, Jonah Ezekiel Egypt, runs away from a brutal foster home and into the lives of Jack Claybourn, a hard-fisted shrimper whose drinking can't drown out his tragic past; Coral Peters, a beautiful social worker with her own demons; Coral's teen-age daughter Hannah, struggling after the sudden death of her father, and Jadah Blue Jimysee, a child psychologist about to be swept into her own crushing drama. These troubled characters come together to protect Jonah when they discover a murderous conspiracy to destroy his life. To do so, they must deal with Eugenia Sams, an ice queen with a damning secret who rules Beaufort society with an iron whip, and her fugitive son Graham, a bitter, vindictive man determined to hurt everyone around him. Events speed toward a volcanic conclusion, leading from the familiar streets of Beaufort, to far-off Turkey and back again, as the war between the families comes to an explosive head that will leave a devastating end for some, but a merciful new beginning for others.