Misplaced Atonement

Attorney Bill Baxter is days from closing his office for good, a well-regarded lawyer ready to step away after decades of practice. His plans end when the daughter of a deceased client walks in. Soon he is facing open racism and police violence in a pair of Southern towns close to a large city. He puts his reputation on the line to pursue the case of his young Black client, who wants the truth about her father's misconduct. When he and the client are jailed and corrupt officers drug him, Baxter's mind slips into delirium, followed by hospitalization and erratic, psychotic behavior. Visions of harm to the people closest to him blur into choices that lead to kidnapping and death. A fiery preacher bends Scripture into a weapon against his devoted follower, the client. Money shifts hands among rival interests chasing Southern wealth, and the search for justice stretches across the South Carolina and North Carolina border. The story moves through Tennessee, Missouri, and the Florida panhandle, with scenes of desperation, deceit, and moments of redemption. Landmarks of the region, from antebellum homes to abandoned textile mills, serve as reminders of what the South was and what it might become. The book's tone is ultimately hopeful for those who have survived Southern brutality.