In 1977, young attorney Nathan Avery finds himself once again in the uncomfortable position of cleaning up after prominent businessman Sid Thornton's sexual indiscretions. This time the young girl Sid has impregnated is only sixteen and unable to sign the deed and confidentiality agreement that he has prepared to buy her silence. Poor Annie Thomas must be returned to her brother's custody to face the embarrassment of a teenage pregnancy with a deed in her hand instead of a ring on her finger. The resulting chain of events follows paths of deceit, betrayal, and intrigue through generations in a small Alabama town culminating in violence that smolders with passion.