In 1945, an infant was discovered in a basket on the front porch of the Katz farmhouse in Camino County, in the remote northeast corner of California. Sarah and Morris Katz adopted the foundling and named him Joshua. Now an old man, Josh Katz hires private investigator Joe Brink to find out who his birth parents were.

Joe heads to Manning Cross, county seat of Camino County. In stark contrast to the suburban sprawl, diversity and liberal culture of Silicon Valley, he finds himself in a rural, lily-white, conservative region. Manning Cross is a dying town in a dying county, running out of people, money and hope.

As Joe looks for clues to his client's origin, he finds people more interested in talking about the death of Josh's wife decades ago. Some say it was an accident; others, that Rachel Katz was murdered, perhaps by her husband. Then Joe's car is torched, and the county sheriff advises him to get out of town, telling him that local folks don't take kindly to outsiders, especially those digging up the past.

After Joe reveals the astonishing identity of Josh's biological parents, Josh asks him to return to Manning Cross, this time to get to the bottom of Rachel's death. Soon Joe and Josh are ensnared in a tangled web of corruption and crimes spanning decades, led by ruthless, powerful men desperate to keep Manning Cross alive, including a conspiracy that extends all the way to the White House.