In 1832， an 18-year-old girl was charged with murdering her young husband. In 1833， Frankie Silver became the first woman in the state of North Carolina to be hanged for murder. But was she guilty? More than one hundred years later， Tennessee Sheriff Spencer Arrowood is determined to reveal the truth behind unanswered questions. Obsessed by the story of Frankie Silver， Arrowood is investigating a case that has many parallels to the long ago murder. Lafayette Fate Harkryder， convicted of murdering a young couple hiking the Appalachian Trail， is scheduled to be executed， and Sheriff Arrowood has been summoned to be his witness. But is an innocent man about to die? The time is near and the executioner may yet carry out his solemn duty before Arrowood finds answers from the past that can save Fate Harkryder from Frankie Silver s tragic end. Sharyn McCrumb s two previous novels， The Rosewood Casket and She Walks These Hills， were New York Times bestsellers. Among her honors are the Edgar， Agatha， Macavity， Anthony， Nero， and Outstanding Contribution to Appalachian Literature awards; she is the two-time winner of the award for the Best Appalachian Novel. Her novels have also been named Notable Books of the Year by both The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.