Born in Mississippi and raised by her late aunt in a Tucson trailer court, Martha Stahlings has created a very successful life from a humble and mysterious beginning. Now, in the wake of a great aunt's death, she and her husband must return to the place she left behind. Martha now has the opportunity to "go home" to find out who she really is. A will left by the great aunt of her husband, Sam, offers him an attractive opportunity to return to his own roots in the South. As the couple embarks on a one-week visit with his relatives in Alabama, Martha is both excited and apprehensive. How will she be received by his distinguished family? What will she discover about her own people? Why did Sam's parents abruptly leave his hometown? Could she be happy there? As an intense week progresses, Martha begins to realize that the true price of Sam's inheritance may be much more than she's willing to pay. His family is endearing but profoundly dysfunctional. The way of life in the small southern town seems alien to her. She makes one dramatic discovery after another that she must keep secret. And most disconcerting of all, she suddenly finds herself in sexual competition with a beautiful, seductive, and ageless aunt. At the end of the week, the heirs assemble for the climactic reading of the will at their lake house. Never in her most fearful moments could Martha have anticipated the drama that is about to erupt-or the role she must play in it.