Heartwood

Jolted by a blow to his personal life, detective Jason Carmichael leaves California to recapture a time when, as a youth, life seemed much less sinister...or so he thought.

One day into his self-imposed R ''n R near a samll Ohio town, he notices a peculiar feature at a covered bridge which funnels him into the lives of the Muellers, an Amish family who had suffered the loss of their daughter twenty-five years earlier. At the time, rumor of an accident, a possible suicide, or murder abounded, but no one seemed to care, and it appears no one has expressed any interest ever since. Was it because Friedel Mueller''s rebellious side caused friction within her community when she refused to be denied a high school education?

Well outside his jurisdiction, Jason assumes the role of a private investigator and shares his finding with a skeptical county deputy.

After confronting a frustrating array of suspects, Jason reunites with a trusted ally and learns the best way to lubricate an interrogation is with a bottle of tequila.