Darleen Union and Eli Wade are childhood friends torn apart by a murder that has never been solved. Raised by her grandmother, Darleen is the heir to the all-powerful Hardigree Marble Company, which controls the small North Carolina town of Burnt Stand. Eli is the boy genius destined to make something of himself - until his family is forced to leave Burnt Stand under suspicious circumstances. But now, 25 years later, the secrets of the past are about to be literally dug up and both Darleen and Eli will learn that the present cannot be lived without understanding the secrets of the past.