"From the outside, Amity looked like any other New England town: creeks trickling through the mountains, old clapboard houses set off unpaved mountain roads, night sounds that were nothing more than the occasional hoot of an owl.". "It was just the kind of place Nell and Billy thought could revive their crumbling marriage. Just the kind of place where Billy thought he could start over and open a little restaurant. After all, the local high school had offered Nell a job, her grandparents' house was sitting empty, and there were friendly neighbors a stone's throw from their porch.". "But the tranquil town of Amity is actually more like a powder keg ready to blow. Unwittingly, Nell and Billy set in motion a chain of events that touches everyone. When the dust settles, one man is dead, two boys are banished from town, a marriage has fallen apart, and - out of the ashes - a new romance begins."--BOOK JACKET.