This story is set in the yesterday world of todays Appalachian Mountains. Two tough men, born and raised in the mountains within a few miles of each other, plot returns to the land of their birth, one a career, combat-decorated Marine with signs of PTSD, the other from prison, one wounded in battle, the other in life. Jake Brewer, a man of faith, survived two combat tours in Vietnam, returning home wounded with a chest full of medals, and recovered to complete his military career. His marriage, rocky in the early years of Vietnam, gathered strength with time. His faith in God, tried in combat, love, and the business world, remains strong. The Slaters are a large family of misfits with the reputation for being vengeful troublemakers. Several own serious criminal histories. These longtime residents of Sterling County are headed to war.