Rebecca Fletcher grew up on the genteel plantation of Live Oaks, her father's family home on the James River in Virginia. After her father was killed in Vietnam, her grandmother, Minnie, assumed the role of both mother and father to Rebecca. Rebecca's mother, Nina, was never talked about. But after Minnie's death, Rebecca's Uncle William decided to subdivide Live Oaks. Now, to save Live Oaks, Rebecca must find Nina alive. The search pulls Rebecca into a nightmare of underworld intrigue and a generations old Corsican feud.