The Labasques aren't like other families. Living in a shack out in the swamps, they make do by hunting alligators and other animals. To the people of Jacknife, Louisiana, they are troublemakers and outcasts, the kind of people you wouldn't want in your community. So, when Cutter Labasque is found face down in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care. The only person who questions the official verdict of suicide is Cutter's childhood friend, Loyal May, who has just returned home to care for her mother. Now with a ragtag group from the local paper where she works, Loyal goes in search of answers, uncovering a web of deceit and corruption that implicates those in town.