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 Harris--and 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.