It is September 1862, the bloody Civil War rages on. In the Cold Spring section of Otis one of the worse crimes In Western Massachusetts history is committed. While on a berry picking outing one late summer day, a young mother is raped and murdered, her two children ages 2 and 4 years bludgeoned to ...

It is September 1862, the bloody Civil War rages on. In the Cold Spring section of Otis one of the worse crimes In Western Massachusetts history is committed. While on a berry picking outing one late summer day, a young mother is raped and murdered, her two children ages 2 and 4 years bludgeoned to death. A wet behind the ears Deputy Sheriff Wesley Langdon is solving 011 poor, family. governor of the state, a nationally recognized abolitionist with eyes on an office in Washington D.C., takes a personal and political interest in the case. Wesley quickly learns that the investigation, influenced by politics, current events, and a changing social landscape, further muddied by his own emotional baggage, will be a complicated affair. Can real justice prevail?