Pete Banning is a decorated World War II hero, and the patriarch of a prominent family, but one morning he drove into town, walked into the Methodist Church and shot the Reverend Dexter Bell. The last words Dexter Bell spoke were "if this is about Lisa, I can explain." He wasn't given a chance to explain and that hovers heavily over the whole story. The story unfolds after World War II and covers the courtroom drama of Pete Banning, interspersed with Jim Crow South injustices and a detailed look into Pete Banning's torture and survival in the war torn Philippians. It isn't until the last few pages that we find out Dexter Bell's involvement with Pete's wife, Lisa.
