Pete Banning started his day like most others, until he enters the Methodist church and shoots the pastor to death, refusing to defend or defend his actions to anyone. Set in 1940s, Grisham returns not only to the town of Clanton, Miss., but also to World War II, and how Banning survived to become the town's war hero. The story explores the immediate and long-term ramifications of a decision on the Banning children, an institutionalized wife, a sister, and Clanton.