The cities of North and South Dugganville are separated by a river and nearly two centuries of animosity. Many of the cities' inhabitants can trace their lineage in the area to well before the beginning of the American Civil War. The cultural roles of those inhabitants are as rigid as those found in any feudal caste system. Also, long existing in the cities sharing a river is a shadow culture driven by greed. It is in that shadow that roles blur and are temporarily put aside in the name of profit. On the surface, things are slowly beginning to change in the Dugganvilles due to a booming tech industry and an influx of transplants from more cosmopolitan parts of the country. Although bringing positive growth and greater prosperity to the area, most of the newer citizens, however, are still shut out from elite Dugganville society with the only exceptions being the transplants who know the rules of the shadow culture. Two people who are intimately aware of the deep-seated generational bigotry in Dugganville are Tyrell and Tabitha Ramsey. She is a Cherokee woman, and he is a very dark skinned African-American man. He works hard to establish a solid plumbing business, while she builds a reputation as an outstanding kindergarten teacher. It is in that role that she meets young Frank Bear, an unusually bright and talented athlete. His family is deeply rooted in the generational poor. The Ramseys unofficially adopt the entire Bear family. Years later, Frank is on his way to earning a spectacular fourth straight state wrestling championship and is considered to be a top prospect for any college in the nation. His wrestling ability is matched only by his academic prowess. Following the final match of his undefeated career, he is brutally attacked in the locker room and nearly killed. His hopes for college are dashed. The attacker is never found. Two years later, Tyrell and Tabitha Ramsey die in a mysterious car accident. With the aid of his beloved high school teacher, Ms. Amber Merritt, Frank regroups his family after the tragedy. He, along with his mother and four siblings, succeed not only in keeping the plumbing business afloat, but in turning it into a regional powerhouse. No one is more enraged by the audacity of the young Indian family and their success than the teacher's husband, R.T. Merritt, a kingpin in the shadow culture and dedicated misogynist. The story bounces frequently from the past and Frank's formative years to the present and the exposure of decades of lies that lead to the final confrontation between Bear and Merritt. Consistently lurking in the backdrop of the story is the enigmatic statue of Major Raeford Thaddeus Beaumont, standing on an island in the river between the cities. No one has ever known who the Major is, which side he fought for, or how he got there, until his secret is revealed in the end.
