Sixteen-year-old prodigy Joe Tolleson discovers the grisly truth about the venerated pillar of Hidden Falls, the Reverend Silas Wayne. Nobody wants to believe Joe's story about Wayne's crimes, not even his parents. Marshalling his ingenuity and courage, Joe unravels the minister's diabolically clever scheme to cover his tracks, only to have the tables mysteriously turned against him. Adversity forces Joe to face the truth about his parents, and to come to grips with complex psychological and philosophical questions. Only a newcomer to Hidden Falls champions Joe's cause, but Wayne has a beautiful and brilliant civil liberties attorney on his side. Joe must overcome the hostility of his home town and his attraction to Wayne's attorney if the truth is to prevail. The outcome of an intricate courtroom battle of wits hangs in balance until the final verdict. A murder mystery, legal thriller, coming-of-age novel of ideas with exciting twists and turns on every page.