Henry Mathews is a young, ambitious associate at one of the top law firms in Chicago. Called back to his tiny hometown of Council Grove, Kansas, to execute the will of Tyler Crandall, the town's richest man, Henry becomes enmeshed in a web of long-hidden secrets. Tyler has chosen to leave his wealth to a homeless derelict called the Birdman. Soon it becomes clear that locked behind the Birdman's apparent madness is the key to the real history of Council Grove. As he is sucked into a maelstrom of money, politics, and a tragic love affair, Henry discovers that right and wrong are more complex than he imagined. Those secrets hold the power to ruin lives. As black and white become gray, what began as a legal battle becomes a spiritual journey stretching back to Henry's mysterious experience at a seminary years before.