Book summary

Leighton Payne is unusual in early 20th-century Mississippi: he's a liberal who is not afraid to stand up for the rights of blacks. He's also the mayor of his small town, and editor of the newspaper. His brother Tandy, the family ne'er-do-well, tries to have a black woman named Loda Jackson ousted from her job as postmistress by spreading lies about her--because he wants her job. The conflict between the two brothers is a microcosm of the conflict between the town and the federal government, which makes the case into a civil rights issue.