Every small-town has a secret—Collinsville has a body.
When Casey Colter returns from three tours in Vietnam, he expects the peaceful routines of a rural Iowa farm to calm his nerves and silence the memories of war. Instead, he finds himself in a different kind of struggle—facing neighbors he once trusted, who cheered him on during football games but now avoid his gaze.
Months earlier, Casey’s younger brother Wade was found beaten to death in the meadow of an abandoned sand pit. The sheriff chalks it up to a drunken brawl gone wrong. Casey knows different. But Wade left behind more than a body. He left questions and secrets that someone would kill to keep hidden.
As Casey digs into his brother’s murder, he uncovers a community rotting from the inside out. A circle of wealthy farmers and influential businessmen—men who control the draft board, the banks, the co‑op, and the county courthouse—has spent years bending the rules, protecting their own, and enriching themselves under the pretense of public service.
The deeper Casey pushes, the more dangerous the ground becomes. Neighbors close ranks and the same men who sent him to war now warn him to leave the past alone. But Casey has survived jungles, ambushes, and the worst a man can do to another. He’s not afraid of the truth. As storms gather over the cornfields and loyalties fracture, Casey must decide how far he’s willing to go for justice—and what justice even means in a place where everyone has something to lose.
