In 1961 the mob still ruled Hot Springs, Arkansas and had Sheriff Bates under their thumb. When babies are being kidnapped in nearby Pine Hollow, Bates has to put this case to bed before the bosses come down from Chicago. They don’t need the heat of a major investigation that could involve the feds.

Who is taking the babies? Is the current case connected to the disappearance of babies 25 years ago?

In a desperate move to solve the case before the FBI has to be called in, Bates decides to arrest Leslie Richards, the new woman in town, even though there is only thin circumstantial evidence against her. Better for it to be a stranger taking those babies and not one of their own.

Leslie has left New York with her ten-year-old daughter hoping to escape from the secrets of her past and the ruins of a relationship, only to discover that there is little peace for her in Pine Hollow, Arkansas.