Memphis in May. The International BBQ Contest, the Cotton Carnival, & now 2 murders. It's all on the shoulders of failed cotton farmer & current Memphis homicide detective, J. W. Ragsdale. He must solve both crimes before the tourists start leaving in droves. J.W. & his partner, Tyrone Walker, sift through an unusual cast of characters, ranging from black gangs dealing crack, to a hier apparent son of Southern aristocracy, to the newly crowned Maid of Cotton. To make matters worse, someone is intent on turning out mass market bad BBQ, the unpardonable sin in Memphis. Through all this, a power struggle for gang leadership has left bodies strewn about the bluff city. J.W. must take the investigation to his home home country, the Mississippi Delta. What he finds could change his life forever...or end it.