Edwina's shaky world is rocked by the murder of a childhood friend on a sweltering Georgia day in 1929. War erupts between the fed-up poor folks of Shine Town and Edy's in-laws, the old money Jacksons of Canes Crossin. Edwina and her sister are trapped in the middle. Growing up Shine Town trash with their single mother, Edwina and Josephine knew about hard living. Then Beauregard Jackson planted a prized baby boy in Edy's sister. Their mother was thrilled to see Jo marry up. Beau's family was livid. The Jacksons were rumored to own everything in the valley and then some. Ruling from the family's plantations, they clung to bygone ways and enforced their will on others, until hubris made them vulnerable. Jealousy, loneliness, adoration, and defiance warred inside Edy. She spent years reconciling hatred of the Jacksons and love for her sister. But when their mother suddenly vanishes, the fragile balance crumbles.Shine Town turns on Edy and she heads to the mountains for answers, only to find more confusion when she stumbles upon the remnants of a people more ancient than memory. They offer an escape, but she can't leave Jo behind. Tripping over prejudice, secrets, and uncertainty, can Edy get out of her own way and save the folks she cares about before Jackson greed gets them all killed? Get tangled in hardscrabble Southern living, small town politics, blood feuds, nearly forgotten folkways, family legacy, and a dash of Appalachian magic.