A native of Tarl, Texas, Bubber Reeves is one of two that has just escaped from prison together, for Bubber two years into his almost completed sentence. While not a model citizen, Bubber was in prison for a crime he didn't commit. Many that know Bubber, including Tarl County Sheriff Calder and most residents of town, believe Bubber will head back to Tarl as his wife, Anna Reeves, still lives there. Calder, a farmer at heart who is biding his time in the job, which he hates, until he can afford to go back to being a farmer, was appointed on the pull of Val Rogers, the wealthiest and most powerful man in town. As such, Calder is caught in the middle, as most believe he is in Val's back pocket in doing what Val asks of him. Val is arguably the only person in town that doesn't know that his son, Jake Rogers, who has not been able to live up to family expectations, is having an affair with Anna, the two and Bubber friends since childhood, and Jake and Anna who had dated before she married Bubber. In that vein, Anna does truly love both in different ways. As the people in town await Bubber's return, including his parents, his mother in particular who loves him but blames herself for the way he turned out, the moral decay of the town in general is highlighted, many who have their own view of what should happen to Bubber and how to achieve it to their satisfaction against what they perceive will happen in part on their view of Calder. That moral decay is only heightened as many mistakenly believe Bubber the perpetrator in the murder of a traveling salesman.—Huggo