Serbina Ellen Monroe had high hopes at the end of the Civil War for life to be better than it had been during the last four strife filled years. Her husband, Brice, came home from the war, wounded, but he had fully recovered. His businesses were busy. Sibby looked forward to the day when lawless renegades in the area were replaced with law abiding citizens. She wanted Texas County, Missouri to be a safe place for her children to grow up. A place where folks lived side by side without being labeled as a Federalist or Confederate sympathizer. Suddenly, Sibby finds her world shattered. Two lawmen, escorting two horse thieves, back to Springfield talk Brice into traveling through the wilderness grove with them. Two weeks later when a young boy finds the thieves dangling from the end of ropes in the grove, Brice is the only one around to point the finger at. He says he's innocent, but he knows he won't be able to find an unbiased jury. There are men in Texas County that have their own reasons for wanting Brice Monroe out of the way. His only alternative is to run as far from Texas County, Missouri as he can get.