Set in fictional Eldridge, West Virginia, a town so poor it uses a defunct savings & loan building as its sheriff's department, and where public defender is a part time job. Newcomer Howard Rainey has been serving in that capacity, on retainer from his 8-month-old law practice. When Rainey is called upon to defend Eldridge's most legendary moonshiner, he finds the old man has a couple of unlikely allies: the town's doctor, as well as the very sheriff who made the arrest. And if they're serious about one thing, it's that Old Man Hartsook must be set free.