Dark and disturbing events in Stillriver, Oklahoma are nothing new. Jon knows this because he has spent all of his life in his hometown, a town that isn't really the idyllic place that one conjures in their mind when they hear the name. But in everything he has seen, the worst thing that he observed was the motivation for a crime that will shake him to his core. Detailing the life of both a witness and a participant in a murder, Oklahoma, 1981-1991 tells Jon's story over a ten year period. Following him from elementary school, where his friends and enemies set the stage for an event that will change his life; to middle school, where the horrific event occurs; to high school, where the terrible ramifications of the crime affect every person he has ever known.