In the fictional town of Bakerton, PA, some see opportunity and others see a threat when an energy company comes around offering to pay for mineral rights on private land. No one, no matter how they respond, remains unaffected, which is the beauty of Haigh’s writing. Through characters such as a brusque prison guard who just wants to farm his grandfather’s land, his lonely wife, their dairy-farming neighbors, or any other of the large cast in this novel, Haigh takes us to the essence of a place with few opportunities that has been loved and left by industries only interested in what lays beneath the ground. With subtle characterization and a deep understanding of rural Pennsylvania, Haigh tells a story that is hard to put down and harder to forget.