In 1936, a Fort Smith, Arkansas jury sent Avyce Buckman to prison for murdering her third husband. More than six decades later after a hint from a friend, book author and seasoned magazine writer Pitt Lewis begins a search for her motives, hoping a follow-up to his successful book might shelter him from the perceived irrational demands of a new magazine editor. Pitt's quest begins in Ashton, the small hometown he left years before, where Avyce is believed to have lived as a young girl. During his visit he renews friendships with Cassy Taylor, whose family history in the area reaches back into the 19th century, and Dave Perry, a classmate who derides the possibility of any story coming from the town he has grown to detest. Even with official records missing from the courthouse, Pitt finds other evidence that Avyce was raised near Ashton and encourages his search in Fort Smith and in El Dorado, Arkansas, a 1928 oil boomtown, where Avyce is suspected of a prior murder. Research and fortunate personal contacts bring the atmosphere of both towns alive during Avyce's era and Pitt begins to know the woman. Now his need to understand her reasons is sharpened. How does a person from such a peaceful background change into a possible murderess? That need and the hope of an intriguing story for his new book pushes him back to Ashton where he believes the answer must rest.