At the age of 12, believing he has killed a friend, Sidney Henderson vows to God never to harm another human being. In the years that follow, the brilliant, self-educated, almost pathologically gentle Sidney keeps his promise, even in the face of hatred and persecution in his insular, rural community. So when a small boy dies in a botched act of sabotage and revenge and Sidney is blamed, his son Lyle takes matters into his own violent hands to defend the family. Rejecting both God and the books on which he was raised, Lyle must determine the legacy his family's tragedy will hold.