Rowan Coffey, one of those hyper-smart young men who are generally too bright for their own good, is nineteen when one of his friends is murdered. Rowan, who had no alibi and was under suspicion, has been knocked off-balance by the experience and leaves university seeking the comfort and familiarity of home. But Rowan's valley is under threat. A New Age convoy has rolled in and brought police and the potential of violence, and a water company wants to damming the river to create a reservoir which will drown Rowan's childhood. Then the promised violence erupts, and Rowan is drawn into battle by forces he never believed existed...