Taylor Beckett is no stranger to corruption. She has studied it, reported it, lost parts of her soul to it. But she has never seen it destroy an entire culture--

Until now.

Three young men are dead, stuffed in blue poly drums and dumped like trash in the Appalachian wilderness. The real story is buried far deeper than the bodies. It's Taylor's job to dig for it, but her inquiry into the case takes a dark turn when a local defies the community's code of silence and becomes collateral damage at the hands of the Mountain Mafia.

The criminal dynamic of Southwest Virginia is unlike anything she's seen in her career. But Taylor has a history she doesn't share with anyone. Degrees of overlap between past and present give her unique insight. Do answers lie in the memory she fights so hard to repress? Most importantly, can Taylor face her own tragic secrets long enough to hold the guilty accountable?