Captain Harry Richardson, who survived the Civil War, imprisonment, and the Indian Wars, is now serving as a circuit-riding preacher in the North Georgia mountains. As the story opens, his biggest worry is the impending birth of a child. Little does he know that a man from his past has come to Choestoe who will turn his peaceful life upside down and threaten the survival of his family. At the same time, someone in this close-knit community is willing to commit murder to protect secrets from the past, and Harry's own mistakes may be coming back to haunt him. Finding what was lost may open up a whole new set of problems: Some of the "lost things" don't want to be found.