Prosecutor Elsie Arnold loves her small-town home in the Ozark hills, but shes been waiting for a murder to come along and make her career. So when a body is found under a bridge, throat cut, Elsie jumps at the chance to work on the case, even if its alongside the brash new chief assistant, Chuck Harrisand her latest flame, Detective Bob Ashlock.

But when the investigation reveals that the deceased woman was driving a school bus, and the police locate the vehicle, its interior covered in blood, the occupant and only suspect is a fifteen-year-old boy. Elsies in for more than she bargained for.

Win or lose, this case will haunt her. No one has successfully prosecuted a juvenile for first-degree murder in McCown County. If she loses, its her career on the line and a chilling homicide unresolved; if she wins, a boys liberty will be taken from him before he reaches his sixteenth birthday.