A desperate runaway, a naive tourist, a ruthless killer, an embittered ex cop, all meet in this story of trust and betrayel, revenge and love.
After years of drudgery and servitude to her demanding mother, shy, reserved Adela Faraday is finally free and embarks on a longed for vacation, touring the southern states of America.
In Alabama she meets Jonas Lando, an embittered hermit, haunted by the death of his wife. She also rescues a young girl on the run from the powerful but sadistic Dashiel Glissando. Adela manages to get the girl out of the country then continues with her tour. But an enraged Glissando enlists the help of a hitman to track down both Adela and the girl. Sterling Hennessey tracks her to her next port of call, Mississippi, and there befriends her hoping to illicit information the easy way before he does what he's been paid to do.
But the dispassionate, heartless killer is not prepared for the feelings she engenders in him, feelings of respect, protectiveness and affection.
Then something happens that causes him to act quickly and he kidnaps Adela, she escapes and seeks refuge in the home of Jonas Lando. It’s not long before Glissando’s men come calling and Adela has to decide whom to trust, the troubled and tormented Lando or Hennessey, a ruthless, cold blooded killer.