Lance Hawthorne, his life forever changed by a horrific crime witnessed at the innocent age of nine and the yoke of guilt carried after the death of his mother five years later, is a man who has attained a stature of comfort at the price of cynicism and indifference. Virtually afraid of his shadow, Lance wallows in risk-aversion and an inhibitive philosophy of self-preservation he deems the "long view." Lance has lived an adult life of conspicuous consumption, despite an upbringing fraught with the hard lessons of a rural South Georgia farming community and the morals of honor and frugality...

Taylor Smart and her two friends, Bobbie Leigh Harwell and Pilfree Romulus Bojo accept a mysterious offer to play a game of a series of challenges they at first believe is no more than a prank. The game soon takes on a completely different countenance whereby failure to comply with the letter of each challenge's unique rules is not an option. Once committed to playing the game, the three friends cannot abandon the game. Each challenge of the game requires complete focus and teamwork, each participant utilizing one another's strengths while adapting for weaknesses. The price for failure is,...

Welcome to Raventon, Georgia, a quiet river town... Having worked weekends for years renovating an antebellum home in the quaint town of Raventon, Mike Smart suddenly vanishes, leaving behind little more than a plaid shirt, a cell phone, and remnants of an apple pie. A year passes and still no sign of Mike. Lacking a body, authorities stop just short of declaring him officially dead, quietly believing it so. Taylor Smart and her mom, Susan, pick up the pieces as best they can in the wake of the devastating loss of Mike, moving to the small town of Raventon and into the refurbished old home....