When Meshac Brownlow murders her mother's boyfriend and leaves home, she learns the price you pay when violence is answered with violence. Will she be found out? Will she be safe? She is glad she saved her sister, and Meshac is glad the evil is wrapped in a tarp and sunk in a swamp. But what does this mean for her soul? Walking long miles on backroads, she arrives in Nuanz, Tennessee. She makes friends with the mover and shaker, Edna Love, and an inquisitive ten-year-old Grace. Meshac finds moments of joy in simple living, like the music at the county fair. A boyfriend's kiss leaves her shaken. Will nightmares of the time before ever go away? The tragic death of Grace's friend, Noah, threatens the harmony of the town. This coincides with the first sit-ins at the nearby Woolworth's lunch counter. Then Meshac is viciously attacked but survives. Her new friends rally to the lonely teen-ager, who's living in a motel and waiting tables. The unfolding of the story links with the four seasons of one year. The yearlong trek from revenge to understanding changes Meshac. She finds her answers in Nuanz, Tennessee at the Bluebird Cafe.