It's 1815 in the small town of Heron's Creek, Georgia. Mute, medical anomaly, and social outcast Yip Tolroy is born. His father has disappeared under mysterious circumstances, so he is raised by his mother, a powerful, troubled, independent woman who owns and runs a general store. At the age of fifteen Yip's life is altered irrevocably, when he witnesses the discovery of gold, meets his faithful friend and comrade Dud Carter, and commits a grievous crime. Thrust unwittingly into a world of violence and sin, Yip and Dud are forced to leave town and embark on an odyssey that will introduce them to the wonder and horror of the American frontier until the revelation of a secret means they must return to Heron's Creek and the fate that awaits them.