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The Murder of Heidi Fay
Heidi Fay was a smalltown, highschool girl from Texas who dreamed to make it big in Hollywood. She left her home to spend time in Austin during the Austin Film Festival, with hopes that she'd meet someone famous and get noticed. She meets someone famous, but she feels pressured into doing cocaine and taking shots of whiskey with him. He rapes her, and as they're approaching her home, he realizes she is dead. They dump her body in a river near to her home. -
Chase Comes to Fredericksburg
At the fear of being arrested in front of his family, Chase makes his way to Texas to turn himself in. Luckily, he arrives after midnight and the court case, so he can't get arrested. However, he does withold some other fate-he gave Heidi the cocaine, and Heidi gave him AIDS. Either way, the two killed each other. -
The Death of Annie Harden
Annie Harden was the kind, loving wife of lawyer Beck Hardin. They had two children, Meggie and Luke. She was 38 when she died of breat cancer,and the children were 5 and 10, respectively. Her death was extremely hard on the family, and completely changed their lives. -
The Move
The Hardin family had lived in a big city, but after the death of Annie they decided to move back to Beck's hometown: a small town in Texas Hill Country named Federicksburg. Beck, Luke, and Maggie move in with Beck's dad, J.B., in his house on his winery. -
High School Football
Beck's father tried hard to assimilate Beck and his children into the town again, and one thing he could do was go to the high school football practice. While there, Beck recognizes his old highschool friend, Aubrey. He turns out to be the new coach of the team. As the two catch up, he tells Beck about his daughter-that she was given cocaine, overdosed, and raped, and that he believes it was a murder. He asks Beck, his lawyer friend, to help him find the murderer before the 5 year statute is up. -
Beck for Judge
Soon after his arrival in Texas, Beck Hardin's father decides to tell everyone in town that his son is running for judge. However, he's running against another local who is well liked by the majority of the population. Beck ends up winning the election, however, and becomes the judge of Fredericksburg, Texas. -
The Investigation
Beck Hardin thought long and hard about the murder of Aubrey's daughter, Heidi. He decided to work on it during his time without a job. As a smalltown, everyone remembers him from his teenage years and is willing to work with him. He visits the police department and reviews evidence, then decides something's off--her body was found, but where were her purse, cellphone, and shoes? -
Slade's Issue
High school football star Slade McQuade got into a fight with a Mexican boy. In a small town overwhelmed by racial issues, it caused slight contreversy. Slade brutally beat the boy, but residents of the town hated Mexicans, so he didn't recieve a punishment. This didn't go over well with new judge Beck Hardin, and he held a trial and was proven guilty. -
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Evidence Discovered!
Beck Hardin worked hard to discover what happened to Heidi Fay. He went out into the field and found her shoes. She dug into her personal life in an attempt to discover who she was behind closed doors. She wasn't exactly the perfect girl everyone made her out to be. She had sex, but she had never touched drugs. Slowly but surely, the evidence pieced itself together and Beck discovered where Heidi was that night and what she was doing and with who when she died. -
Suicide?
After Slade's trial, the town was in an uproar. The white people weren't happy with the verdict, and the Mexican population was ecstatic because they had a victory after years of oppression. However, because of the trial, Slade lost it all. He lost his scholarships and his popularity. He no longer felt like he had any reason to live, and he tragically took his own life. -
The Date
Beck reconnects with several women upon his return into town. However, his date with Jodie is a pivotal moment. It's not exactly a date, as she is known as the town lesbian and really it's just a friend date. The two spend time on J.B.'s winery with Beck's children and become close. After the initial date, it becomes something that happens often. Beck feels disheartened because he begins to grow feelings for her, but he doesn't know how to remain faithful to his dead wife. -
They Found Him!
The DNA on the shoes Beck found matched the DNA of a limo driver named Rudy. Rudy was called, and he confessed to dumping the shoes, purse, and phone, and explained to Beck the events that occurred that night. The killer was named Chase, someone that Rudy drove around frequently. He was an actor famous in Hollywood and Heidi was hoping to find an audition through him. There is very little time left until they ca no longer charge him, though. -
Luke's First Game
A pivotal moment in bonding and the Hardin's life, Beck's son played in his first football game. With football being a big part of Texas life and Beck being a high school football star, the whole town was excited. Beck was content because this kind of life was exactly what his wife had wanted. -
A Phone Call from Chase
After 5 years, the murder of Heidi Fay had been solved. The issue was catching the murderer, Chase. Chase called Beck and made him aware that Rudy was not going to come testify at his trial. Rudy's testimony was the one thing needed to put Chase in jail. With sad, let down hearts, the town held the trial anyways. Without Chase present, he could still be indicted of a crime, but without Rudy's testimony, the evidence was almost a mute point. -
The End
At the end of the book, the entire Hardin family has a new life. Beck is happy and dating the town's bookstore owner. J.D.'s winery is doing good, and Beck has realized where his home is. They move his wife's grave to Fredericksburg next to his mothers, and the family begin their new, new life with a judge as a father. Beck is happy because he sees now the life his wife had wanted her family to have.
