IF SOMEONE NAMES YOU AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THEIR WILL, THAT'S A GOOD THING. RIGHT? Not in the case of English professor Clifford Oates! When the professor opens a box he has inherited, he is stunned to see a familiar family photo. Why does a convict, murdered in prison, have this picture? Determined to solve this mystery, he calls on young Atlanta attorney Ashleigh Warren and her wannabe boyfriend, private investigator Taylor Goodwin. Together, they embark on a search that will ultimately travel back 50 years; involve land on the Georgia coast now worth millions, and reveal a tale of guilt, greed and family secrets. Both of their lives will be put in jeopardy by a killer who will let nothing stand in his way. And Professor Oates will learn, as most of us already know, that the persons with the blackest hearts are not always within prison walls, but outside.