Author: J. R. Rice

October, 1945—Five months after the end of World War II, Walton Hess Jr. returned from Europe to his family home in Lakes End. Three weeks later, his father, a wealthy cattle baron was dead, making him the sole heir to the vast Hess empire. Walton had dreamed of this day for three long years while fighting the War. Now was the time to create a new empire—his empire—an industrial-based empire of processing plants and manufacturing facilities. And nothing or no one would stand in his way.

July, 1976—The bicentennial celebration was underway. The small town of Lakes End at the southern tip of Lake Culebras was inundated with tourists, enjoying the warm, clear waters of the placid lake. Twenty-three miles to the north, at the opposite end of the long, narrow body of water, the story was quite different—the Hess Processing Plant had been spewing toxins into the remote region of the lake for more than thirty years. When a fledgling organization known as the EPA shows up, a series of events unfold, becoming the stuff of legends.

May, 2015—Sheriff Jackson Campbell was a relative newcomer to the town of Lakes End—relocating there from Bane County at the beginning of 2011. He’d run for Culebras County Sheriff the following year, winning the election hands down. Life had been good for the past few years. Jackson, his wife, Mariana, and his young son, Dylan, had never been happier. But things were about to change in the sleepy little village of Lakes Ends. And no one knew better than Jackson Campbell that—sometimes …old legends could come to life.

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