Penn Cage

When he was a prosecuting attorney, Penn Cage sent hardened killers to death row. But it is as mayor of his hometown, Natchez, Mississippi, that Penn will face his most dangerous threat. Urged by old friends to try to restore the town to its former glory, Penn has ridden into office on a tide of support for change. But in its quest for new jobs and fresh money, Natchez has turned to casino gambling.

When a heart attack sends Penn's father, Tom Cage, to the ER, Tom begs that his son be brought to his side to hear a dying declaration. But when Penn arrives, Tom denies ever making the request - keeping his secrets for another day. The emergency hurls Penn back to a chilling case in Houston, where he worked in a DA's office known as the "death factory", which sent more killers to death row than any other in America.

Fifteen years after the events of the Natchez Burning trilogy, Penn Cage is alone. Nearly all his loved ones are dead, and his old allies gone. Pursued by enemies and demoralized by a divided community, he's found sanctuary on a former cotton plantation above the Mississippi River. But Penn's self-imposed exile comes to an abrupt end when a brawl at a Bienville rap concert triggers a shooting—one that nearly takes the life of his daughter Annie. Before the stunned city can process the tragedy, an arsonist starts torching antebellum plantation homes in Natchez and Bienville.