Up jumps the Devil

Judge Deborah Knott lives in Colleton County, North Carolina, where she knew the Stancil family since childhood. When Dallas Stancil is shot dead in his backyard, she pays a sympathy visit to his widow, bringing a casserole from her aunt. Dallas left behind land that has become valuable as developers move into the region's farms and woods. His widow, his stepchildren, and several opportunists, including some of Deborah's own brothers, all have their eyes on it.

Another Stancil tragedy follows, and a long-buried secret resurfaces from Deborah's past. She could simply order the man responsible out of town or push to have him charged with murder, but leaving him alone carries its own risk. The story unfolds against a changing South, where hunting dogs, loud funerals, backwoods moonshine stills, and work trucks share the roads with luxury cars and new housing tracts.

Deborah is the daughter of a bootlegger, and she now sits on the bench, seeing both the rural world she grew up in and the modern one replacing it. Torn between her family's roots and her own heart, she must decide where her loyalties lie.