In forest near an apple orchard dies The thief, the murderer, the liar lies..... The coal fields of Kentucky have been invaded by a killer who leaves poems, religious symbols, and meticulously arranged death scenes as he seeks an ancient relic of the First Crusade. State Police Detective Cotton McDonald and mine owner Jennings Lockwood join forces to investigate and stop the carnage, aided along the way by priests, a witch, and messages from the dead. This thriller reveals its many surprises as the world decends on eastern Kentucky to find the Lost Star of Jerusalem.