This saga begins where Harbingers of Spring left off. Jack Newsum starts a crime watch chapter and mentoring program for young people at risk from his home in Potomac, Maryland. As the Newsums vacation at their country estate in North Carolina, Jack is shot after a round of golf for interfering in a bank robbery when he overhears a conversation between his caddy Isaac Quincy, known as Slim, and his friend, Walker. Slim takes an extraordinary turn when he protects Jack from further harm. Everything is spun into lethal orbit when Slim fails to go along with Walker's plan to execute a second attempt. A love interest ensues between Slim and Jack's niece, Wendy Newsum, when she visits Jack in the hospital. Jack takes that opportunity to help Slim move in the right direction. But Jack's wife, Christi, unleashes her growing trepidation, which leads her to suspect Slim of being part of a scheme with his criminal father to kill his grandmother for insurance money, which would coincide with his father's prison release. Walker blames Jack for the bank robbery disruption and continues his quest for revenge. Fulfilling his vengeful escapades leads to his accidental death. Geraldine Claire has addressed a nearly universal question when she reveals the forces harmfully confined when 'unhealthy influences' stifle growing individuals.