As spring bursts forth, so does a whole lot more, including murder by arrow, in quiet Benteen County, Kansas. Nothing ever happens here. Then, on a perfect spring morning, a member of the TV crew filming in the area dies with a Cheyenne arrow in his back. A prime suspect is Sheriff English's brother, Mad Dog, the county oddball, whose American Indian heritage has produced a born-again Cheyenne.

While murder is a bad way to start the day, bombs don't improve it. Notes left for authorities hint at a terrorist assault on the heartland. As if the sheriff, known as Englishman, doesn't have enough to worry about, his wife has begun acting strangely. She insists he fly off for a Paris holiday with her before sunset - or else.

As Mad Dog swings between suspect and target, he encounters not only his long-lost high-school sweetheart but also a secret that just may explain the unlikely mix of arrows and bombs.

It's Murphy’s Law squared, as Mad Dog and his pet wolf, Hailey, test a shaman's powers and Englishman struggles to balance his duties to family and community. It's enough to drive anyone crazy.

J. M. Hayes, born and raised in central Kansas, graduated from Wichita State University and did postgraduate work at the University of Arizona.