Across the ranchlands and cities of his home state, Rory Yates's discipline and law-enforcement skills have carried him far from local highway patrolman to the honorable rank of Texas Ranger. He arrives in his home town to find a horrifying crime scene, and a scathing accusation. He is named a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife, Anne, a devoted teacher whose only controversial act ever was deciding to end her marriage to a Ranger.