“I’m free and I don’t know how to act,” Bud Baker says after he’s rousted from his prison cell and seated on a bus in the middle of the night. He aims to make his way to Alaska, where he has a cabin and childhood memories, but he lingers in a sleepy Oregon town after falling for the beautiful Jo Jo Summers. She tells him the tragic story of an addict whose baby was stolen at birth. When she asks Bud to return the boy to his birth mother, he refuses – until she reveals that the woman is her sister. Bud risks his newfound freedom by reverting to his criminal ways, expecting a manhunt. But he’s already being hunted – by demons from his past. William Dean tells an unforgettable story, thrilling yet tender, about a would-be righteous criminal driven by love.